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THE 


LIFE  AND  TIMES 


HENRY    CLAY. 


BT 

SAMUEL   M.   SCHMUCKEB,   LL.D. 

OF  "PUBLIC  AKD  rUTATB  HISTORT  0V  XAFOLKOX  in.,"   "  UTI  in 

•V  AUXAJron  KAMILTOX."  "  urc  AMD  TIMES  OP  THOKA*  micuo*,' 
MBUTO«Z  or  tiu  roo*  atonais,"  nc. 


PHILADELPHIA : 
JOHN  E.  POTTER  AND  COMPANY* 

617  SANSOM  STREET. 


XnUrad,  according  to  Act  of  (JongrcM,  in  the  year  1860,  by 

SAMUEL   M    SCH  MUCK  Eli, 

to  the  Clerk'i  Office  of  th«  District  Court  of  the  United  SUtti  for  th«  lUstcrn  Diftrtft 
of  Penn«ylT»ui». 


PREFACE. 


A  GREAT  orator  lives  in  his  speeches ;  an  eminent 
statesman,  in  the  wise  and  patriotic  measures  which 
he  may  have  devised  and  advocated.  That  record 
of  the  career  of  these  individuals  is  most  complete, 
which  combines  together  such  a  proportion  of  both 
these  kinds  of  achievement,  as  will  reproduce  most 
successfully  the  peculiar  individuality  of  the  man. 

The  present  writer  has  been  guided  by  this  prin- 
ciple in  the  preparation  of  the  following  work.  His 
endeavor  has  been  to  comprise  within  a  compass 
more  portable  and  convenient  than  that  of  any  other 
work  now  existing  on  the  subject,  a  narrative  of  the 
most  interesting  and  important  events  of  Henry  Clay's 
life;  at  the  same  time  also  demonstrating  to  the 
reader  what  manner  of  man  he  was,  and  how  noble 
the  actions  were  which  he  performed,  by  furnishing 
appropriate  extracts  from  his  orations,  at  those  precise 
stages  of  the  narrative  to  which  they  respectively  be- 

(Hi) 


W  PREFACE. 

longed  ;  as  well  as  by  adding  some  of  his  most  re- 
markable master-pieces,  unabridged,  in  the  concluding 
portion  of  the  volume. 

The  following  b'iography  claims  to  be  impartial  in 
its  statements.  The  writer,  although  he  entertains  a 
due  appreciation  of  Mr.  Clay's  extraordinary  merits, 
is  not  his  idolater ;  and,  consequent^,  the  reader  will 
not  find  in  these  pages  a  repetition  of  those  undis- 
cerning  and  extravagant  eulogies  of  their  subject, 
which  have  characterized  the  productions  of  some  of 
his  biographers ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  any  of  those 
implacable  and  bitter  invectives  which  have  deformed 
the  pages  of  others.  Summary  as  the  work  com- 
paratively is,  and  was  intended  to  be,  it  was  the  effort 
of  the  writer,  by  a  few  bold  and  simple  strokes  of 
the  historic  pencil,  to  furnish  a  portraiture  of  the  il- 
lustrious theme,  which  would  perhaps  prove  as  satis- 
factory to  the  popular  reader,  as  a  more  extended,  ela- 
borate, and  artificial  representation  might  have  been. 

S.  M.  S. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Birth  of  Henry  Clay  —  His  Family — He  attends  School — "  Millhoy  of  the 
Slashes" — Is  placed  in  Denny's  Store — His  Early  Habits — Obtains  a  Desk 
in  the  Office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Virginia  Court  of  Chancery — His  Indus- 
try— Chancellor  Wythe — His  Studies — Prepares  for  the  Bar — Is  admitted 

—  His  Removal  to  Lexington,  Kentucky  —  His  Limited  Resources  —  His 
Further  Studies  in  Lexington — Admitted  to  the  Bar  in  Fayette  County— 
His  First  Speech  in  the  Debating  Club PACK  9 

CHAPTER  II. 

Mr.  Clay's  Professional  Success — Case  of  Mrs.  Phelps — Of  the  Two  Germans 
— Of  Willis — The  New  Constitution  of  Kentucky — Mr.  Clay's  Opinions  on 
the  Abolition  of  Slavery — His  Speeches  on  the  Subject — Consequent  Un- 
popularity—  Elected  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Kentucky  —  Alien  and 
Sedition  Laws  —  He  advocates  the  Removal  of  the  State  Capital  —  The 
Result  —  His  Marriage  and  Family 18 

CHAPTER  III. 
Mr.  Clay's  Defence  of  Aaron  Burr — His  Election  to  the  United  States  Semite 

—  Announces  his  System  cf  "Internal  Improvement" — His  Subsequent 
Election  to  the  Kentucky  Legislature  —  His  Duel  with   Mr.  Humphrey 
Marshall — His  Services  in  the  Legislature  —  His  Re-election  to  the  U.  S. 
Senate  —  His  Speech  on  the  Perdido  Tract 30 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Proposal  to  Recharter  the  United  States  Bank  —  Mr.  Clay  opposes  it — Sub- 
sequent Change  in  His  Opinions  —  Reasons  for  that  Change  —  Mr.  Clay 
elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives — Is  chosen  Speaker — English  and 
French  Hostilities  against  the  United  States  —  Mr.  Clay  in  Favor  of  War 
with  England  —  Hostilities  commenced  —  Events  of  the  War  —  Mr.  Clny 
appointed  Commissioner  to  Ghent  —  Treaty  of  Peace  —  Mr.  Clay's  Return 

to  Kentucky 42 

1*  (V) 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Establishment  of  a  National  Bank — Mr.  Clay's  Advocacy  of  it — Proposal  to 
increase  the  Salary  of  Representatives — Mr.  Clay's  Vote  on  this  Subject — 
The  South  American  Republics  —  Mr.  Clay's  Proposition  to  sympathize 
•with  Them — Ilia  Eloquence  on  this  Subject — Its  Final  Results  —  Resolu- 
tions censuring  QeneralJackson — The  Admission  of  Missouri  to  the  Union 
— The  Missouri  Compromise — Mr.  Clay's  Retirement  to  Professional  Life 

—  His  Ill-Health  — Return  to  Congress 53 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Recognition  of  the  Freedom  of  Greece — The  Subject  of  Protection  of  Ame- 
rican Industry — Mr.  Clay's  Speech  respecting  it  —  Visit  of  Lafaj'elte  to 
U.  S. —  Is  received  by  Mr.  Clay  in  the  House  of  Representatives — Presi- 
dential Campaign  of  1S24  —  Rival  Candidates  —  Mr.  Adams  elected  Presi- 
dent—  Mr.  Clay  appointed  Secretary  of  State  —  Charge  of  "Bargain  and 
Sale"  —  Its  Falsehood  and  Malignity  —  Mr.  Clay's  Self-Vindication...  71 

CHAPTER  VIL 

Mr.  Clay  as  Secretary  of  State  —  His  Official  Activity — General  Jackson  re- 
yives  the  Charge  of  Bargain  nnd  Sale  —  Unpopularity  of  the  Adams  Ad- 
ministration— John  Randolph — His  Assault  on  Mr.  Clay — Duel  between 
Clay  and  Randolph — Its  Incidents  and  Result — Election  of  General  Jack- 
Bon  to  the  Presidency — Return  of  Mr.  Clay  to  Kentucky — Malignity  and 
Persecution  of  his  Enenves — His  Re-election  to  the  United  States  Senate 

—  Is  nominated  for  the  Presidency 84 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Tariff  of  1832 — Mr.  Clay's  Bill— His  Argument  in  Defence  of  it — Dis- 
content in  South  Carolina  —  The  Proclamation  of  President  Jackson  — 
Counter  Proclamation  of  Governor  Hayne — Mr.  Clay's  Compromise  Bill — 
His  Argument  in  Support  of  it — Mr.  Webster's  Opposition  —  Its  Final 
Passage — Peace  of  the  Union  preserved — Mr.  Clay's  Journey  thrnngh  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  States  —  Exhibitions  of  Popular  Enthusiasm — Hit 
Return  to  Washington 101 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Disposal  of  the  Public  Lnnds  —  Policy  of  Mr.  Clay  respecting  them — His 
Report  on  the  Subject — President  Jackson's  Opposition  to  it  —  The  Bunk 
of  the  United  States  —  The  President  resolves  to  remove  the  Deposits  — 
Changes  produced  thereby  in  his  Cabinet — The  Opposition  of  Congress  to 
the  Measure — The  Deposits  removed — Mr.  Clay's  Speeches  on  the  Subject 

—  The  Expunging  Resolution  —  Extracts 118 


CONTENTS.  Til 

CHAPTER  X. 

Mr.  Clay's  Opposition  to  President  Jackson — His  Visit  to  Kentucky — Ame- 
rican Claims  on  France  —  Their  Adjustment  —  Mr.  Clay's  Report  on  the 
Subject — Election  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  Presidency — The  Sub-Treasury 
System  —  Mr.  Clay's  Opposition  to  it  —  His  Speeches  on  the  Subject  — 
Defeat  of  the  Bill  proposing  it — Its  Subsequent  Revival — Continued  Op- 
position to  it  by  Mr.  Clay 134 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Campaign  of  1840 — Nomination  of  Gen.  Harrison  to  the  Presidency— 
His  Election— His  Death— Accession  of  Mr.  Tyler— Mr.  Clay's  Bill  on  the 
U.  S.  Bank— Its  Veto  by  Pres.  Tyler —  Mr.  Clay's  Speech  on  the  Veto — 
Mr.  Clay's  Visit  to  his  Birthplace — Incidents  of  that  Occasion — Mr.  Clay 
resigns  his  Seat  in  the  Senate — His  Letter  to  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky 
— His  Address  to  the  Senate  on  his  Resignation- — Impression  produced  by 
its  Delivery 151 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Mr.  Clay's  Return  to  Private  Life  —  The  Lexington  Barbecue — His  Speech 
on  this  Occasion — His  Visit  to  Richmond,  Indiana — Incident  in  Reference 
to  the  Slavery  Question — His  Speech  on  this  Occasion — His  Visit  to  Day- 
ton, Ohio — His  Journey  to  the  South-Eastern  States — Enthusiastic  Recep- 
tions during  the  Progress  of  his  Journey  —  He  sojourns  at  Washington — 
Is  nominated  for  the  Presidency  by  the  Whig  Convention  at  Baltimore — 
He  returns  to  Ashland 176 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Presidential  Campaign  of  1844  —  Revival  of  the  "Bargain  and  Sale" 
Slander — Characteristics  of  the  Contest — Its  Unexpected  Result — Defeat 
of  the  Whigs — Disappointment  of  Mr.  Clay's  Friends — Various  Proofs  of 
their  Attachment  to  him  —  The  Mexican  War — Death  of  Henry  Clay,  Jr. 
—  Mr.  Clay  joins  the  Church  —  His  Speech  on  the  Mexican  War  —  Hi« 
Views  on  Slavery  —  His  Visit  to  the  North  —  His  Reception 188 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Ihe  Political  Campaign  of  1848— Wishes  of  Mr.  Clay's  Friends — Nomination 
of  General  Taylor  for  the  Presidency — His  Election — Mr.  Clay  re-elected 
to  the  U.  S.  Senate  —  His  Letter  in  Reference  to  the  Abolition  of  Slavery 
in  Kentucky — Its  Results — Compromise  Measures  of  I860 — Their  Import 
— Mr.  Clay's  Efforts  in  Favor  of  Them — Opposition  of  both  Northern  and 
Southern  Senators  —  Their  Ultimate  Defeat ..  203 


Till  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Mr.  Clay's  Views  of  the  Tariff  of  1846  —  The  Harbor  And  Rirer  BUI  — Mr. 
Clay's  Interest  in  its  Passage  —  Tactics  of  the  Opposition  —  Mr.  Clny'i 
Appeal*  on  the  Subject — Ultimate  Defeat  of  the  Bill— Mr.  Clay's  last  Visit 
to  Ashland  —  His  Return  to  Washington — His  Interview  with  KoMutb — 
His  Last  Sickneis — His  Death — That  Event  announced  in  Congress..  229 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Henry  Clay's  Obsequies  at  Washington  —  Remarks  of  Mr.  Underwood  — 
Eulogy  pronounced  by  Mr.  Seward — The  Address  of  Mr.  Breckenridge — 
Religions  Services  in  the  Senate  Chamber — The  Remains  conveyed  to 
Lexington — Their  Reception  there — Intense  Popular  Peeling — Addresses 
—  Masterly  Eulogy  by  Mr.  Crittenden 237 


APPENDIX. 

SELECT    SPEECHES   OF   HENRY   CLAY. 
I. 

OB  the  Oreek  Revolution.     Delivered  in  the  House   of  Representative*, 
Jan.  20,  1824 31ft 

II. 

Onr  Treatment  of  the  Cherokee*.    Delivered  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  Feb.  14,  1835 321 

III. 

On  the  Public  Lands.     Delivered   in  the   Senate  of  the  United  States, 
1832 .. 355 

IV. 

On  African  Colonisation.     Delivered  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Jan 
20,  1827,  before  the  American  Colonixation  Society 401 


HENRY  CLAY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BIRTH  OF  HENRY  CLAT — HIS  FAMILY — HE  ATTENDS  SCHOOL — "  MILLBOT 

OF  THE  SLASHES"  —  is   PLACED  IN  DENNY'S  STORE  —  HIS  EARLT 

HABITS — OBTAINS  A  DESK  IN  THE  OFFICE  OF  THE  CLERK  OF  THE  VIR- 
GINIA COURT  OF  CHANCERY HIS  INDUSTRY — CHANCELLOR  WYTHE 

HIS  STUDIES PREPARES  FOR  THE  BAR — IS  ADMITTED — HIS  REMOVAL 

TO  LEXINGTON,  KENTUCKY  —  HIS  LIMITED  RESOURCES  —  FURTHER 
STUDIES  IN  LEXINGTON — ADMITTED  TO  THE  BAR  IN  FAYETTE  COUNTT 
—  HIS  FIRST  SPEECH  IN  THE  DEBATING  CLUB. 

HENRY  CLAY,  who  may  justly  be  denominated  the 
most  versatile  and  eloquent  of  American  statesmen, 
was  born  in  Hanover  county,  Virginia,  on  the  12th 
of  April,  1777.  He  first  saw  the  light  at  a  period 
when  his  native  land  was  involved  in  the  desperate 
struggles  of  the  Revolution  by  which  she  achieved 
her  liberties;  and  his  infancy  was  nursed  amid  its 
lowering  storms  and  thrilling  vicissitudes.  His  father 
was  an  esteemed  Baptist  clergyman,  who  officiated  in 
that  neighborhood  ;  a  region  of  country  to  which  the 
epithet  "Slashes"  was  applied,  as  significant  of  the 
low  and  marshy  nature  of  the  soil.  Henry  was  one 
of  a  family  of  eight  children,  consisting  of  five  sons 

(9) 


10  THELIFEANDTIMES 

and  three  daughters.  The  latter  all  died  at  an  early 
period ;  of  the  sons,  the  Rev.  Porter  Clay,  who  lived 
subsequently  at  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  alone  attained, 
with  his  illustrious  brother,  a  maturer  age. 

The  future  statesman  lost  his  father  by  death  in 
1781,  when  he  was  in  his  fifth  year.  The  family  were 
left  in  very  dependent  circumstances ;  yet  the  mother 
of  Henry,  who  was  a  person  of  superior  intellect  and 
resolution,  secured  for  him  the  best  mental  cultivation 
which  was  then  within  her  reach.  He  was  sent  to  the 
nearest  school  in  the  neighborhood,  where  an  English- 
man of  more  than  ordinary  attainments,  named  Dea- 
con, taught  the  usual  branches  of  rudimental  know- 
ledge. This  seat  of  the  muses,  thus  destined  to  so 
unexpected  a  posthumous  fame,  was  an  humble  log 
cabin,  with  no  floor  but  the  naked  earth,  the  door  and 
windows  being  always  open  to  the  free  airs  of  heaven. 
In  that  ungenial  spot  this  boy  of  such  extraordinary 
gifts,  and  destined  to  so  wide  a  celebrity,  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  In 
the  vicinity  of  this  school,  the  widowed  mother  con- 
tinued to  reside  for  some  years ;  during  which  period 
Henry,  when  not  engaged  with  his  books,  was  called 
upon  to  assist  in  various  household  offices.  One  of 
these,  was  to  procure  from  a  mill  in  the  Slashes  the 
necessary  flour  for  the  use  of  the  family;  which  duty 
he  usually  accomplished  by  riding  on  horseback 
thither  with  a  bag;  and  thus  arose  that  phrase  which 
afterward  became  familiar  to  millions  of  American 
ears,  as  applied  to  him :  "  the  Mill-boy  of  the  Slashes." 

Several  years  after  the  death  of  her  first  husband, 
Airs.  Clay  married  Captain  Henry  Watkins,  a  resident 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  11 

of  Richmond.  By  his  means,  Henry  was  placed  in 
1791,  when  fourteen  years  of  age,  in  the  store  of 
Richard  Denn}-,  in  that  city;  and  there  he  remained 
for  the  period  of  a  year.  During  this  interval  the 
boy  was  remarked  for  his  industry,  his  amiability  of 
temper,  and  propriety  of  behaviour;  but  at  the  same 
time,  he  exhibited  a  rarer  and  equally  commendable 
quality.  He  evinced  a  desire  to  improve  himself  in- 
tellectually, and  the  hours  of  leisure  which  other 
youths  of  the  same  age  devoted  to  amusement  or  to 
folly,  he  employed  in  reading  such  interesting  and 
useful  books  as  came  within  his  reach.  His  step- 
father seems  to  have  discerned  the  remarkable  pro- 
mise of  the  boy,  and  to  have  taken  a  more  than  ordi- 
nary interest  in  his  welfare.  Accordingly  he  applied 
to  his  friend  Peter  Tinsley,  the  clerk  of  the  high 
Court  of  Chancery  of  Virginia,  at  Richmond,  to 
admit  young  Clay  into  his  office  as  one  of  his  subor- 
dinates and  assistants.  A  situation  in  this  office  was 
much  prized,  was  with  much  difficulty  attained,  and  at 
that  time  no  vacancy  existed  in  the  usual  number  of 
clerks ;  nevertheless,  the  influence  and  assiduities  of 
Captain  Watkins  prevailed,  and  Henry  was  promoted 
to  the  envied  post. 

The  appearance  of  young  Clay  in  this  office  was  at 
first  the  signal  for  considerable  amusement  among  his 
more  polished  and  advanced  associates.  His  personal 
characteristics  might  have  excused  a  little  merriment 
on  the  occasion,  for  he  was  a  tall,  gaunt,  awkward 
youth,  whose  confusion  at  the  novelty  of  his  situation 
was  apparent;  and  his  attire,  consisting  of  a  suit  of 
Virginia  cloth,  resembling  in  color  a  mixture  of  pep- 


12  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

per  and  salt,  seemed  equally  singular  and  anomalous 
But  the  associates  of  the  young  clerk  soon  discovered 
the  better  and  higher  qualities  which  he  possessed; 
his  manliness,  independence  and  amiability  ;  and  soon 
he  srained  their  favor  and  admiration.     His  excellent 

O 

habits  of  industry  also  won  their  regard  and  that  of 
his  employer ;  for  he  exhibited  an  insatiable  desire  for 
mental  improvement,  and  his  leisure  time  was  still 
devoted  to  the  increase  of  his  knowledge,  by  the 
perusal  of  all  the  works  of  value  and  entertainment 
which  he  could  secure.  Like  all  intellects  of  a  high 
order,  his  mind  felt  a  natural  attraction,  an  instinc- 
tive, elective  affinity  towards  those  beauties  and  mental 
achievements  which  other  minds  of  similar  gifts  and 
capacities  have  produced  and  elaborated,  and  which 
are  preserved  on  the  printed  page  for  the  gratification 
and  improvement  of  mankind. 

Henry  Clay's  connection  with  the  clerk's  office  of 
the  Court  of  Chancery,  placed  him  within  the  reach 
of  influences  which  produced  a  decisive  effect  upon 
his  future  destiny  through  life,  and  moulded  it  in  a 
new  and  more  attractive  form.  He  was  there  brought 
in  contact  with  Chancellor  Wythe,  one  of  the  ablest 
and  most  eminent  men  whom  Virginia  has  produced. 
The  Chancellor  soon  discerned  the  superior  gifts  of  the 
young  clerk;  and  being  in  want  of  an  amanuensis  in 
recording  his  decisions,  as  well  as  preparing  other  ne- 
cessary writings,  he  requested  the  chief  clerk  to  allow 
him  the  assistance  and  the  service  of  young  Clay. 
This  request  was  complied  with;  and  the  result  was, 
that  during  the  period  of  four  years  he  served  the 
Chancellor  in  the  capacity  of  clerk,  at  the  same  time 


OFHENRTCLAT.  IS 

enjoying  the  benefits  of  his  society,  his  advice,  and  his 
patronage. 

Nothing  could  have  heen  more  fortunate  for  young 
Clay  than  his  propitious  relation.  His  patron  soon 
began  to  entertain  a  high  admiration  for  his  character, 
and  to  feel  an  interest  in  his  future  destiny,  lie 
readily  discerned  that  his  clerk  possessed  talents  of  a 
high  order;  and  these  he  resolved  to  nurture,  to  de- 
velop and  encourage,  that  they  might  fully  achieve 
their  legitimate  destiny.  He  gave  him  directions  as 
to  the  course  of  his  studies;  pointed  out  what  depart- 
ments of  knowledge  should  be  explored  ;  designated 
what  books  should  be  studied ;  and  stimulated  him 
in  the  pursuit  of  information.  The  apt  and  ambitious 
pupil  of  the  Chancellor  made  the  utmost  of  these  for- 
tunate influences,  and  his  industry  was  as  remarkable 
as  his  progress  in  knowledge  was  extraordinarj'.  His 
capacious  mind,  developing  and  ripening  now  into  the 
full  stature  and  capacity  of  manhood,  advanced  with 
the  facility  of  a  giant,  through  the  realms  of  know- 
ledge ;  and  although  his  acquisitions  were  not  syste- 
matic, nor  pursued  according  to  the  symmetrical  ar- 
rangements which  exist  in  institutions  professedly 
devoted  to  the  pursuit  of  science,  they  were  diversified, 
and  extensive,  and  practical. 

Young  Clay  enjoyed  one  great  advantage  from  this 
peculiarity  of  his  early  studies ;  he  was  thrown  in  an 
unusual  degree  upon  his  own  resources ;  he  used  no 
props  or  stilts ;  and  thus  his  mind  attained  one  of  the 
chief  essentials  and  attributes  of  greatness  —  perfect 
self-dependence  arid  reliance.  After  he  had  spent 
several  years  in  the  services  of  Chancellor  Wythe,  he 
2 


14  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

followed  his  suggestion,  and  was  enrolled  in  the  office 
of  Attorney-General  Brooke  as  a  regular  student  of  law. 
The  Chancellor  had  directed  his  aspirations  to  the  bar, 
ns  the  future  arena  of  his  life  and  labors;  he  followed 
the  suggestion  ;  and  for  a  year  devoted  himself  indus- 
triously to  the  specific  studies  which  were  requisite  to 
fit  him  for  admission  to  the  profession.  During  this 
interval,  another  influence  was  brought  to  bear  upon 
young  Clay,  which  was  of  the  most  useful  character, 
and  helped  to  develop  his  intellectual  energies  by 
drawing  them  forth  to  the  light  of  day,  and  assuring 
him  of  the  till  then  unkown  powers  which  Nature  had 
placed  within  him.  While  a  student  in  Mr.  Brooke's 
office,  he  established  a  debating  society,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  practice  in  public  speaking.  Among  the 
young  persons  who  were  associated  with  him  in  this 
enterprise,  there  were  several  who  afterward  attained 
distinction.  But  the  debates  and  orations  in  which 
Clay  took  part  in  this  association,  first  elicited  and 
displayed  his  remarkable  gifts  as  a  natural  orator; 
they  surprised  and  delighted  himself  with  the  first 
consciousness  of  his  latent  gifts;  while  they  furnished 
to  his  associates  abundant  and  convincing  proof  of 
what  his  future  distinction  would  be.  The  fame  of 
the  young  orator  even  went  abroad  among  the  citi- 
zens of  Richmond,  and  caused  the  hopes  and  admira- 
tion of  the  public  to  be  associated  with  his  name. 

In  1792  Clay's  mother,  her  husband,  and  family, 
removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Lexington,  Kentucky. 
He  remained  in  Richmond  to  continue  his  Etudies; 
and  one  year  after  his  entrance  into  the  office  of  Mr. 
Brooke,  he  wag  examined,  and  admitted  to  practice, 


OFHENRTCLAY.  15 

by  the  Virginia  Court  of  Appeals.  This  event  oc- 
curred in  1797,  in  his  twenty-first  year.  "With  his 
license  in  his  pocket,  as  his  only  possession,  except 
the  rare  gifts  and  capabilities  which  he  carried  in  his 
head,  the  young  adventurer  then  left  Richmond, 
where  no  opening  seemed  to  invite  him  ;  and  he  jour- 
neyed to  Lexington,  in  Kentucky,  for  the  purpose  of 
commencing  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  him- 
self afterward  described  the  state  of  his  finances,  and 
the  moderation  of  his  hopes  at  this  period,  in  the  fol- 
lowing graphic  language,  which  was  uttered  in  Lex- 
ington, in  June,  1842,  at  a  public  entertainment  given 
him  by  the  citizens  : 

"In  looking  back  upon  my  origin  and  progress 
through  life,  I  have  great  reason  to  be  thankful.  My 
father  died  in  1781,  leaving  me  an  infant  of  too  tender 
years  to  retain  any  recollection  of  his  smiles  or  en- 
dearments. My  surviving  parent  removed  to  this 
State  in  1792,  leaving  me,  a  boy  of  fifteen  years  of 
age,  in  the  office  of  the  high  court  of  chancery,  in  the 
city  of  Richmond,  without  guardian,  without  pecu- 
niary means  of  support,  to  steer  my  course  as  I  might 
or  could.  A  neglected  education  was  improved  by 
my  own  irregular  exertions,  without  the  benefit  of 
systematic  instruction.  I  studied  law  principally  in 
the  office  of  a  lamented  friend,  the  late  Governor 
Brooke,  then  Attorney-General  of  Virginia,  and  also 
under  the  auspices  of  the  venerable  and  lamented 
Chancellor  Wythe,  for  whom  I  had  acted  as  amanuen- 
sis. I  obtained  a  license  to  practise  tho  profession, 
from  the  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals  of  Virginia, 
and  established  myself  in  Lexington,  in  1797,  without 


16  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

patrons,  without  the  favor  or  countenance  of  the  great 
or  opulent,  without  the  means  of  paying  my  weekly 
board,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  bar  uncommonly  distin- 
guished by  eminent  members.  I  remember  how  com- 
fortable I  thought  I  should  be  if  I  could  make  one 
hundred  pounds,  Virginia  money,  per  year,  and  with 
what  delight  I  received  the  first  fifteen  shillings  fee. 
My  hopes  were  more  than  realized ;  I  immediately 
rushed  into  a  successful  and  lucrative  practice." 

On  his  arrival  in  Lexington,  in  1797,  he  did  not 
apply  at  once  for  admission  to  practice,  but  spent  a 
few  months  in  prosecuting  his  legal  studies;  doubt- 
less from  the  necessity  which  existed,  that  he  should 
make  himself  familiar  with  the  differences  which  pre- 
vailed between  the  laws  of  the  State  which  he  had  left, 
and  those  of  the  State  to  which  he  had  removed.  At 
length  his  application  was  made,  and  he  was  admitted ; 
thus  becoming  the  member  of  a  bar  which  already  in- 
cluded among  its  ornaments  several  men  of  distin- 
guished abilities,  such  as  John  Breckenridge,  James 
Hughes,  and  George  Nicholas. 

An  incident  occurred  during  the  short  period  spent 
by  Henry  Clay  in  preparatory  studies  before  his  ad- 
mission to  the  Lexington  bar,  which  deserves  to  be 
narrated,  inasmuch  as,  in  the  case  of  so  gifted  a  man, 
it  furnishes  an  evidence  that  much  diffidence  and 
modesty  may  often  be  combined  with  vast  intellectual 
gifts.  A  debating  club  existed  among  the  young  men 
of  Lexington,  of  which  Mr.  Clay  soon  became  a 
member.  He  had  attended  several  meetings  without 
taking  any  part  in  the  proceedings.  On  a  certain 
eveuing,  just  as  the  debate  was  about  to  be  termi 


OF    HEN  BY    CLAY.  17 

nated,  and  the  usual  vote  to  be  taken,  he  was  heard 
to  remark,  in  an  under-tone,  that  he  did  not  think 
the  subject  had  been  fully  exhausted.  Several  of  the 
members  then  urged  him  to  speak,  and  their  importu- 
nities at  length  prevailed.  Mr.  Clay  rose,  but  in  the  ut- 
most confusion.  He  stam  mered  out  the  words,  *'  Gentle- 
men of  the  jury,"  to  the  surprise  and  amusement  of 
the  assembly,  and  his  trepidation  increased.  He  re- 
peated the  same  words  a  second  time,  with  a  still 
more  aggravated  result.  At  length,  by  a  vigorous 
effort,  probably  stung  by  the  illy-suppressed  ridicule 
of  his  audience,  he  mastered  his  fears,  and  com- 
menced his  speech.  As  he  progressed  he  gained  con- 
fidence ;  he  warmed  with  the  subject ;  his  fine  powers 
came  into  full  play;  and  before  he  concluded,  he  con- 
vinced  all  who  heard  him  that  he  was  one  of  Nature's 
noblemen,  an  orator  of  high  gifts,  and  of  brilliant 
promise.  Mr.  James  Hughes,  who  was  present,  after 
ward  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Lexington  bar, 
asserted  repeatedly  on  subsequent  occasions,  that  that 
was  the  best  speech  Mr.  Clay  ever  delivered  ; — a  judg- 
ment indeed  of  doubtful  accuracj*,  but  indicative  of 
the  high  admiration  with  which  this  virgin  eftbrf  of 
Mr.  Clay  inspired  him  and  his  associates. 


18  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 


CHAPTER   II. 

».  CLAT'S  PROFESSIONAL  SUCCESS — CASE  OF  MRS.  PHELPS —  OF  ins 

TWO  GERMANS  —  OF  WILLIS  —  THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION  OF  KENTUCKY 

—  MR.  CLAY'S  OPINIONS  ON   THE  ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY — in? 

SPEECHES  ON  THE  SUBJECT — CONSEQUENT  UNPOPULARITY — ELECTED 
TO   THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY   OF   KENTUCKY  —  ALIEN    AND   SEDITION 

LAWS HE  ADVOCATES  THE  REMOVAL  OF  THE  STATE  CAPITAL — TUB 

RESULT  —  HIS  MARRIAGE  AND  FAMILY. 

THE  early  experience  of  Mr.  Clay  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  was  such  as  might  have  been  antici- 
pated from  the  superiority  of  his  talents.  Very  full 
details  of  events  which  occurred  at  so  distant  a  period, 
do  not  now  exist ;  but  such  as  do  remain,  clearly  de- 
monstrate that  he  soon  attained  a  high  rank  as  a 
popular  and  eloquent  advocate.  A  few  incidents  ap- 
pertaining to  this  portion  of  his  career,  may  here  be 
appropriately  introduced. 

One  of  the  first  cases  in  which  he  was  retained,  was 
that  of  a  Mrs.  Phelps,  who  was  charged  with  the 
crime  of  murder.  She  was  the  wife  of  a  respectable 
farmer,  who,  previous  to  the  act  for  which  she  was 
arrested  and  arraigned,  had  been  esteemed  as  an  ex- 
emplary woman.  In  a  moment  of  passion,  when 
quarrelling  with  her  husband's  sister,  she  seized  a 
loaded  musket  which  happened  to  be  at  hand,  and 
discharged  it  at  her,  producing  immediate  death.  The 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  19 

crime  was  not  denied;  the  only  possible  plea  was, 
that,  the  act  being  committed  in  the  heat  of  passion, 
without  any  malice  prepense,  the  defendant  should 
not  suffer  death,  but  merely  a  punishment  which, 
while  it  vindicated  the  majesty  of  the  law,  would  not 
ruin  the  happiness  and  blast  the  reputation  of  the 
accused.  In  addressing  the  jury  on  behalf  of  this 
client,  Mr.  Clay  dwelt  with  much  eloquence,  as  is  re- 
ported, upon  the  fact  that  the  defendant  was  a  woman 
of  good  reputation,  who  acknowledged  her  fault,  and 
felt  the  utmost  regret  for  it ;  that  her  husband,  the 
brother  of  the  deceased,  pitied  and  forgave  her  crime, 
and  interceded  in  her  behalf;  while  it  was  evident 
that  the  sudden  gust  of  passion  under  which  she  had 
committed  the  deed,  amounted  in  realit}*  to  tempo- 
rary delirium,  during  the  existence  of  which  her  reason 
had  been  dethroned.  In  taking  this  position,  Mr. 
Clay  may  be  said  to  have  invented  or  introduced  that 
plea  of  insanity  in  cases  of  sudden  crime,  which  haa 
been  urged  so  frequently  since  in  defence  of  many 
similar  acts  of  unpremeditated  violence. 

Another  trial  in  which  the  popular  talents  of  the 
young  advocate  were  displayed,  was  that  of  two  Ger- 
mans, the  father  and  son,  who  were  charged  with 
murder  in  the  first  degree.  The  circumstances  of  the 
case  were  aggravated,  and  the  general  expectation  of 
the  commuuity  was,  that  nothing  could  save  the  necks 
of  the  culprits  from  the  halter.  Mr.  Clay,  never- 
theless, undertook  their  defence.  The  fact  of  tho 
commission  of  the  deed  was  clearly  proved,  and  the 
only  resource  of  the  advocate  was,  to  endeavor  to 
dimmish  the  grade  of  the  crime  in  the  estimation  of 


20  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

the  court  and  jury.  After  a  laborious  contest  of  five 
days,  the  verdict  of  the  jury  was  manslaughter.  But 
the  resources  of  the  young  counsellor  were  not  yet 
exhausted ;  and  he  immediately  moved  for  an  arrest 
of  judgment,  supporting  the  motion  with  such  plau- 
eible  and  conclusive  arguments,  that  the  court  wa8 
compelled  to  grant  it.  The  result  was,  that  the  de- 
fendants were  eventually  discharged;  but  the  conclusion 
of  the  scene  was  as  singular  as  were  the  ability  and  suc- 
cess of  the  advocate.  The  wife  and  mother  of  the  ac- 
cused, who  had  been  present  in  the  court  during  the 
trial,  watching  every  step  and  vicissitude  of  its  progress 
with  the  most  anxious  attention,  as  soon  as  she  learned 
that  her  husband  and  son  were  set  at  liberty,  rushed 
forward  to  the  bar,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  crowd, 
threw  her  arms  around  the  neck  of  their  deliverer, 
and  overwhelmed  him  with  caresses.  Such  a  demon- 
stration  was  doubtless  much  more  complimentary  to 
the  talents  than  agreeable  to  the  feelings  of  the  youth- 
ful and  blushing  advocate. 

Another  case  of  similar  character  which  may  be 
mentioned,  was  that  of  a  person  named  Willis,  who 
had  committed  a  murder  under  circumstances  of  atro- 
cious guilt.  Mr.  Clay  defended  him,  and  after  a  pro- 
tracted trial,  the  jury  were  unable  to  agree  upon  a 
verdict.  The  result  was,  that  a  new  trial  was  ordered, 
and  Mr.  Clay  again  appeared  for  the  defendant.  He 
immediately  put  in  the  plea,  well  known  to  the  com- 
mon law,  that  no  person  can  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy 
of  his  life  upon  the  same  charge.  The  court  replied, 
that  such  a  plea  could  not  be  received,  and  forbade 
the  clerk  to  enter  it.  Mr.  Clay  thereupon  informed 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  21 

the  judges,  that  he  would  abandon  the  case  if  such  a 
decision  was  insisted  on,  and  immediately  withdrew 
from  the  court.  By  this  decisive  step,  the  wljole  re- 
sponsibility of  violating  what  seemed  to  be  an  acknow- 
ledged principle  of  law,  was  thrown  upon  the  judges; 
and  either  their  ignorance  or  their  fears  counselled 
them  not  to  assume  it.  They  consequently  sent  a 
messenger  after  the  retreating  lawyer,  requesting  him 
to  return.  He  complied,  and  was  then  informed  that 
he  might  proceed  in  the  conduct  of  the  case  as  he 
pleased.  Mr.  Clay  then  argued  the  point  more  at 
length,  insisting  that  a  previous  trial  was  equiva- 
lent in  effect  to  a  plea  of  autrefoits  acquit,  or  a  former 
acquittal ;  and  that  on  that  ground,  his  client  was  en- 
titled to  his  discharge.  The  resolution  and  ingenuity 
of  the  advocate  prevailed,  and  a  verdict  of  not  guilty 
was  ultimately  rendered. 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  cases  of  ability  and  success 
similar  to  these,  occur  in  the  early  career  of  all  law- 
yers of  superior  capacities,  and  are  in  themselves 
nothing  miraculous;  nevertheless,  they  were  appro- 
priate to  the  character  and  talents  of  Mr.  Clay,  and 
deserve  to  be  recorded,  as  forming  part  of  the  first 
professional  triumphs  of  a  man  who  afterward  achieved 
so  very  distinguished  a  destiny. 

The  transition  from  the  pursuits  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession to  those  of  a  political  life  was  very  natural, 
and  almost  inevitable  in  the  case  of  a  young  aspirant 
after  fame  and  fortune  as  gifted  as  Mr.  Clay;  and  ac- 
cordingly we  find,  that  as  early  as  1798,  when  the 
inhabitants  of  Kentucky  were  about  to  elect  the  dele- 
gates to  a  Convention  to  frame  a  new  State  Constitu- 


22  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

lion,  Mr.  Clay  took  a  part  in  the  discussions  which 
accompanied  that  movement.  The  most  remarkable 
feature  in  the  new  Constitution  which  was  proposed, 
was  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  State. 
The  plan  which  he  favored  was,  that  the  generation 
of  slaves  then  living  should  remain  in  bondage;  but 
that  all  negroes  born  in  the  State  after  a  certain  period, 
should  be  free.  He  published  a  series  of  articles  in 
the  Kentucky  Gazette  at  Lexington,  over  the  signa- 
ture of  Scaevola,  defending  this  policy;  arid  he  advo- 
cated it  in  his  public  speeches.  But  the  step  was  un- 
acceptable to  the  people  ;  he  and  those  who  approved 
of  his  views  were  greatly  in  the  minority;  the  mea- 
sure was  completely  crushed  at  the  time;  and  Mr. 
Clay  lost  thereby  much  of  his  popularity.  Neverthe- 
less, he  adhered  consistently  to  the  opinions  on  the 
the  subject  of  slavery  which  he  then  defended,  through- 
out his  whole  subsequent  career.  He  reiterated  the 
same  sentiments  on  many  occasions  with  great  bold- 
ness. Thus  when  addressing  the  American  Coloni- 
zation Society  at  Washington,  in  January,  1827,  he 
thus  expressed  himself: 

"  The  population  of  the  United  States  being,  at 
this  time,  estimated  at  about  ten  millions  of  the  Euro- 
pean race,  and  two  of  the  African,  on  the  supposition 
of  the  annual  colonization  of  a  number  of  the  latter, 
equal  to  the  annual  increase  of  both  of  its  classes 
(bond  and  free),  during  the  whole  period  necessary  to 
the  process  of  duplication  of  our  numbers,  they  would, 
at  the  end  of  that  period,  relatively  stand  twenty 
millions  for  the  white  and  two  for  the  black  portion. 
Dut  an  annual  exportation  of  a  number  equal  to  the 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  23 

annual  increase,  at  the  beginning  of  the  term,  and 
persevered  in  to  the  end  of  it,  would  accomplish  more 
than  to  keep  the  parent  stock  stationary.  The  colo- 
nists would  comprehend  more  than  an  equal  propor- 
tion of  those  of  the  prolific  ages.  Few  of  those  who 
had  passed  that  age,  would  migrate.  So  that  the  an- 
nual increase  of  those  left  behind,  would  continue 
gradually,  but  at  first  insensibly,  to  diminish;  and  by 
the  expiration  of  the  period  of  duplication,  it  would 
be  found  to  have  materially  abated.  But  it  is  not 
merely  the  greater  relative  safety  and  happiness, 
which  would,  at  the  termination  of  that  period,  be 
the  condition  of  the  whites.  Their  ability  to  give 
further  stimulus  to  the  cause  of  colonization  will  have 
been  doubled,  while  the  subjects  on  which  it  would 
have  to  operate,  will  have  decreased,  or  remained  sta- 
tionary. If  the  business  of  colonization  should  be 
regularly  continued  during  two  periods  of  duplication, 
at  the  end  of  the  second,  the  whites  would  stand  to 
the  blacks,  as  fort}'  millions  to  not  more  than  two, 
while  the  same  ability  will  have  quadrupled.  Even 
if  colonization  should  then  altogether  cease,  the  pro- 
portion of  the  African  to  the  European  race  will  be  so 
small,  that. the  most  timid  may  then  for  ever  dismiss 
all  ideas  of  danger  from  within  or  without,  on  nc- 
2ount  of  that  incongruous  and  perilous  element  in  our 
population. 

"Further:  by  the  annual  withdrawal  of  fifty-two 
thousand  persons  of  color,  there  would  be  an  annual 
space  created  for  an  equal  number  of  the  white  race. 
The  period,  therefore,  of  the  duplication  of  the  whites, 


2i  THE    LIFE    AI?D    TIMES 

(>y  the  laws  which  govern  population,  would  be  ao« 
celerated. 

"  Such  is  the  extension  and  use  which  may  be  made 
of  the  principle  of  colonization,  in  application  to  our 
slave  population,  by  those  states  which  are  alone  com- 
petent to  undertake  and  execute  it.  All,  or  any  one 
of  the  states,  which  tolerate  slaver}',  may  adopt  and 
execute  it,  by  co-operation,  or  separate  exertion. 

"If  I  could  be  instrumental  in  eradicating  this 
deepest  stain  from  the  character  of  our  country,  and 
removing  all  cause  of  reproach  on  account  of  it,  by 
foreign  nations;  if  I  could  only  be  instrumental  in 
ridding  of  this  foul  blot  that  revered  State  that  gave 
me  birth,  or  that  not  less  beloved  State  which  kindly 
adopted  me  as  her  son  ;  I  would  not  exchange  the 
proud  satisfaction  which  I  should  enjoy,  for  the  honor 
of  all  the  triumphs  ever  decreed  to  the  most  success- 
ful conqueror. 

"  We  are  reproached  witli  doing  mischief  by  the 
agitating  of  this  question.  Collateral  consequences 
we  are  not  responsible  for.  It  is  not  this  society, 
which  has  produced  the  great  moral  revolution,  which 
the  age  exhibits.  What  would  they,  who  thus  re- 
proach us,  have  done?  If  they  would  repress  all 
tendencies  toward  liberty,  and  ultimate  emancipation, 
they  must  do  more  than  put  down  the  benevolent 
efforts  of  this  society.  They  must  go  back  to  the  era 
of  our  liberty  and  independence,  and  muzzle  the 
cannon,  which  thunders  its  annual  joyous  return. 
The.y  must  revive  the  slave-trade,  with  all  its  train  of 
atrocities.  They  must  blow  out  the  moral  lights  around 
us,  and  extinguish  that  greatest  torch  of  all,  whicb 


0*    HEX  TIT    CLAY.  25 


America  presents  to  a  benighted  world,  pointing 
way  to  their  rights,  their  liberties,  and  their  happi- 
ness.  And  when  they  have  achieved  all  these  pur- 
poses, their  work  will  yet  be  incomplete.  They  must 
penetrate  the  human  soul,  and  eradicate  the  light  of 
reason,  and  the  love  of  liberty.  Then,  and  not  till 
then,  when  universal  darkness  and  despair  prevail, 
can  you  perpetuate  slavery,  and  repress  all  sympa- 
thies, and  all  humane  and  benevolent  efforts  among 
freemen,  in  behalf  of  the  unhappy  portion  of  our  race 
doomed  to  bondage." 

In  another  speech,  on  the  same  subject,  delivered 
at  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  December  17,  1829,  at  the 
anniversary  of  the  Kentucky  Colonization  Society, 
Mr.  Clay  uttered  the  following  sentiments: 

"  More  than  thirty  years  ago  an  attempt  was  made, 
in  this  commonwealth,  to  adopt  a  system  of  gradual 
emancipation,  similar  to  that  which  the  illustrious 
Franklin  had  mainly  contributed  to  introduce,  in 
1780,  in  the  State  founded  by  the  benevolent  Penn. 
And  among  the  acts  of  my  life,  which  I  look  back  to 
with  most  satisfaction,  is  that  of  my  having  co-ope- 
rated, with  other  zealous  and  intelligent  friend?,  to 
procure  the  establishment  of  that  system  in  this 
State.  We  believed  that  the  sum  of  good,  which 
would  be  attained  by  the  State  of  Kentucky,  in  a 
gradual  emancipation  of  her  slaves,  would  far  trans- 
scend  the  aggregate  of  mischief  which  might  result 
to  herself  and  the  Union  together,  from  the  gradual 
liberation  of  them,  and  their  dispersion  and  residence 
in  the  United  States.  We  were  overpowered  by  num- 
bers, but  submitted  to  the  decision  of  the  majority, 
3 


26  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

with  a  grace  which  the  minority,  in  a  republic,  should 
ever  yield  to  such  a  decision.  I  have,  nevertheless, 
never  ceased,  and  never  shall  cease,  to  regret  a  deci- 
sion, tho  effects  of  which  have  been  to  place  us  in  the 
rear  of  our  neighbors  who  are  exempt  from  slavery, 
in  the  state  of  agriculture,  the  progress  of  manufac- 
tures, the  advance  of  improvements,  and  the  general 
piosperity  of  society.  Is  there  no  remedy?  Must 
we  endure  perpetually  all  the  undoubted  mischiefs  of 
a  81,'ite  of  slaver}',  as  it  affects  both  the  free  and  bond 
ponions  of  these  States  ?  "What  mind  is  sufficiently 
extensive  in  its  reach,  what  nerves  sufficiently  strong, 
to  contemplate  this  vast  and  progressive  augmentation 
[of  the  slave  population]  without  an  awful  foreboding 
of  the  tremendous  consequences? 

"When  we  consider  the  cruelty  of  the  origin  of 
negro-slavery,  its  nature,  the  character  of  the  free  in- 
stitutions of  the  whites,  and  the  irresistible  progress 
of  public  opinion,  throughout  America,  as  well  as  in 
Europe,  it  is  impossible  not  to  anticipate  frequent  in- 
surrections among  the  blacks  in  the  United  States; 
they  are  rational  beings,  like  ourselves,  capable  of 
feeling,  of  reflection,  and  of  judging  of  what  naturally 
belongs  to  them  as  a  portion  of  the  human  race.  By 
the  very  condition  of  the  relation  which  subsists  be- 
tween us,  we  are  enemies  of  each  other.  They  know 
well  the  wrongs  which  their  ancestors  suffered,  at  the 
hands  of  our  ancestors,  and  the  wrongs  which  they 
believe  they  continue  to  endure,  although  they  may 
be  unable  to  avenge  them.  They  are  kept  in  subjec- 
tion only  by  the  superior  intelligence  and  superior 
power  of  the  predominant  race. 


OF    HENRY    SLAT.  27 

"If  we  were  to  invoke  the  greatest  blessing  on  earth, 
which  Heaven,  in  its  mercy,  could  now  bestow  on 
this  nation,  it  would  be  the  separation  of  the  two 
most  numerous  races  of  its  population,  and  their  com- 
fortable establishment  in  distinct  and  distalit  coun- 
tries. To  say  nothing  of  the  greatest  difficulty  in  the 
formation  of  our  present  happy  Constitution,  which 
arose  out  of  this  mixed  condition  of  our  people; 
nothing  of  the  distracting  Missouri  question,  which 
was  so  threatening;  nothing  of  others  springing  from 
the  same  fruitful  source,  which  yet  agitate  us,  who 
can  contemplate  the  future,  without  the  most  awful 
apprehensions?  Who,  if  this  promiscuous  residence 
of  whites  and  blacks,  of  freemen  and  slaves,  is  for 
ever  to  continue,  can  imagine  the  servile  wars,  the 
carnage  and  the  crimes,  which  will  be  its  probable 
consequences,  without  shuddering  with  horror?" 

Notwithstanding  the  temporary  unpopularity  which 
the  utterance  of  sentiments  such  as  these,  or  of  simi- 
lar import,  threw  upon  him,  Mr.  Clay  soon  regained 
the  favor  of  the  people  of  Kentucky,  to  whom  he  had 
by  this  time  become  known  as  a  rising  young  lawyer 
and  politician  of  unequalled  abilities;  and  four  years 
after,  in  1803,  while  he  was  absent  at  the  Olympian 
Springs,  he  was  nominated  and  elected  a  member  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  his  adopted  State.  One 
means  by  which  he  had  regained  the  popular  favor, 
was  the  energy  and  zeal  with  which  he  had  con- 
demned the  alien  and  sedition  laws  which  were  passed 
during  the  administration  of  John  Adams.  The 
alien  law  authorized  the  President  to  order  any  alien 
or  foreigner  whom  he  chose  to  consider  dangerous  to 


28  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

tlie  peace  and  safety  of  the  country,  to  leave  it,  or  be 
imprisoned  for  three  years.  By  the  sedition  law,  he 
was  invested  with  full  power  to  punish  till  oflences  of 
speech  and  of  the  press.  These  measures,  which  Mr. 
Clay  regarded  as  anti-repuhlican,  he  opposed  with 
his  utmost  ability;  and  such  opposition  was  consist- 
ent with  the  doctrines  which  he  held  as  a  Jefferso- 
nian  Democrat.  It  was  under  this  banner,  and  in 
conjunction  with  this  party,  that  he  commenced  his 
political  career,  and  whatever  measures  promoted  the 
enjoyment  of  the  largest  degree  of  freedom,  consist- 
ent with  the  stability  of  society,  the  administration 
of  law,  and  the  rights  of  others,  he  was  disposed  to 
advocate.  In  this  instance  he  was  on  the  popular 
side,  and  the  result  was,  his  first  election  to  an  office 
in  the  gift  of  the  people. 

The  most  important  measure  which  Mr.  Clay  ad- 
vocated during  his  term  of  service  in  the  Legislatn^ 
was  the  removal  of  the  State  capital  from  Frankfort. 
In  his  speech  on  that  occasion  he  is  said  to  have  com- 
pared in  a  humorous  vein  the  unfitness  of  the  loca- 
tion of  that  city  to  an  inverted  hat.  Frankfort  was 
the  body  of  the  hat,  the  surrounding  high  lands  and 
bluffs  were  the  brim.  The  place  resembled  Nature's 
great  penitentiary ;  and  was  in  no  respect  suited  to 
the  distinction  of  being  the  capital  of  the  Common- 
wealth. The  Legislature  finally  resolved  to  make 
the  proposed  removal ;  but  as  no  suitable  locality  was 
ever  afterward  chosen,  Frankfort  still  remained  the 
seat  of  government. 

Mr.  Clay  was  married  in  April,  1797,  a  year  and  a 
half  after  his  removal  to  Kentucky,  to  Mies  Lucretia 


OF    HENRY    CLAT.  29 

Hart,  daughter  of  Colonel  Hart,  one  of  the  most  es- 
teemed and  respectable  citizens  of  Lexington.  Mrs. 
Clay  was  a  native  of  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  and 
four  years  younger  than  her  distinguished  husband. 
A  long  life  of  domestic  felicity  afterward  crowned 
their  union  ;  and  a  family  of  eleven  children  succes- 
sively graced  their  family  circle ;  of  whom  a  large 
proportion  died  in  early  life.  One  of  his  surviving 
sons  fell  with  honor  in  his  country's  service,  on  the 
blood-stained  field  of  Buena  Vista,  in  1847. 


3* 


«• 


80  THE    LIPS    AND    TIMES 


CHAPTER  III. 

MR.  CLAT'S  DEFENCE  OF  AARON  BURR — nis  ELECTION  TO  TITE  UNITED 

STATES  SENATE — ANNOUNCING  HIS  SYSTEM  OF  "  INTERNAL  IMPROVE- 
MENT"  HIS  SUBSEQUENT  ELECTION  TO  THE  KENTUCKY*  LEGISLA- 
TURE  HIS  DCEL  WITH  MR.  HUMPHREY  MARSHALL HIS  SERVICES 

IN  THE  LEGISLATURE  —  HIS  RE-ELECTION  TO  THE  U.  S.  SENATE  —  HIS 
SPEECH  ON  THE  PERDIDO  TRACT. 

Ix  the  year  1806  Mr.  Clay  became  engaged  in  pro- 
fessional duties  which  brought  him  into  intimate  rela- 
tions with  the  celebrated  Aaron  Burr.  A  short  time 
previous  to  this  event,  two  men  named  \\rood  and 
Street,  had  removed  from  Virginia  to  Frankfort,  in 
Kentucky,  and  had  established  a  newspaper  under  the 
title  of  the  "The  Western  World,"  in  which  they 
charged  several  prominent  persons  in  that  State  with 
being  engaged  in  projects  and  conspiracies  having  for 
their  object  the  separation  of  some  of  the  Southwest- 
ern States  from  the  Confederacy.  Among  those  thus 
charged  was  Judge  Innis,  whose  high  character  should 
have  protected  him  from  such  an  imputation.  He 
prosecuted  the  editors  of  this  paper  for  libel,  and  re- 
covered exemplary  damages.  Mr.  Clay  represented 
the  Judge  in  this  suit,  and  displayed  his  usual  skill 
and  ability  in  its  conduct. 

Shortly  afterward  public  rumor  charged  Aaron  Burr 
with  treasonable  designs  against  the  Federal  Govern- 


OF    HENRY    CLAf.  81 

ment;  and  he  was  arrested  when  passing  through 
Kentucky  at  the  instance  of  Colonel  Daviess,  then 
the  United  States  District  Attorney  for  that  district. 
As  Mr.  Clay's  reputation  was  already  very  great  as  an 
advocate,  Burr's  first  step  was  to  retain  him  for  his 
defence;  and  as  all  the  other  rumors  and  charges  of 
treason  which  had  been  prevalent  had  been  proven  to 
be  false  and  groundless,  Mr.  Clay  inferred  that  Mr. 
Burr  was  also  an  innocent  victim  of  public  and  wan- 
ton slander.  He  agreed  to  defend  Burr  on  the  trial ; 
but  when  the  indictment  was  sent  in  to  the  Grand 
Jury,  they  deemed  the  .evidence  insufficient,  and  ig- 
nored the  bill.  Burr  was  soon  afterward  arrested 
again,  and  again  retained  Mr.  Clay;  but  as  the  latter 
had  recently  been  elected  to  a  high  office  in  the  Fede- 
ral Government,  he  declined  to  accept  the  trust  unless 
Mr.  Burr  would  give  him  a  written  assurance  of  his 
entire  innocence.  This  assurance  Burr  gave  in  the 
following  language: 

"I  have  no  design,  nor  have  I  taken  any  measure, 
to  promote  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  or  the  separa- 
tion of  any  one  or  more  States  from  the  residue.  I 
have  neither  published  a  line  on  this  subject,  nor  has 
any  one  through  my  agency,  or  with  my  knowledge. 
I  have  no  design  to  intermeddle  with  the  Govern- 
ment, or  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  the  territories,  or  any  part  of  them.  I 
have  neither  issued,  nor  signed,  nor  promised,  any 
commission  to  any  person,  for  any  purpose.  I  do 
not  own  a  musket  nor  bayonet,  nor  any  single 
article  of  military  stores,  nor  does  any  person  for 
ine,  by  my  authority,  or  with  my  knowledge.  My 


82  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

views  have  been  fully  explained  to  and  approved  by 
several  of  the  principal  officers  of  Government,  and, 
I  believe,  are  well  understood  by  the  Administration, 
and  seen  by  it  with  complacency ;  they  are  such  as 
every  man  of  honor,  and  every  good  citizen,  must 
approve.  Considering  the  high  station  you  now  fill 
in  our  national  councils,  I  have  thought  these  expla- 
nations proper,  as  well  to  counteract  the  chimerical 
tales  which  malevolent  persons  have  so  industriously 
circulated,  as  to  satisfy  you  that  you  have  not  espoused 
the  cause  of  a  man  in  any  way  unfriendly  to  the  laws 
or  the  interests  of  the  country." 

The  Grand  Jury,  however,  ignored  the  bill  a  second 
time,  and  again  Mr.  Clay  escaped  the  necessity  of 
defending  a  traitor;  but  subsequently,  in  1815,  when 
he  returned  from  Ghent,  and  visited  Mr.  Jefferson  at 
"Washington,  the  latter  placed  before  him  such  indis- 
putable proofs  of  Burr's  guilt,  that  he  was  convinced 
of  the  falsehood  of  his  protestations  of  innocence. 
Accordingly,  when  Clay  and  Burr  accidentally  met 
in  New  York  soon  after,  and  when  the  latter  wished 
to  renew  their  friendly  relations,  Mr.  Clay  declined 
the  proffer,  and  repulsed  his  advances. 

In  1806  Mr.  Clay  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  of 
Kentucky  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Hon.  John 
Adair.  It  was  certainly  a  rare  and  singular  honor  for 
it  young  man  of  thirty  years  of  age,  to  be  chosen  to 
occupy  so  high  and  responsible  a  post.  The  ability 
and  industry  which  he  exhibited  in  his  new  office, 
however,  soon  convinced  the  public  that  the  trust  had 
not  been  misplaced.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  85 

discussions  which  occupied  the  attention  of  the  Sen- 
ate ;  and  among  other  things  offered  and  advocated  a 
resolution  which  proposed  the  appropriation  of  a 
quantity  of  land  for  the  opening  of  a  canal,  to  be  cut 
around  the  rapids  of  the  Ohio  River,  on  the  Kentucky 
shore.  The  merit  of  this  movement  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Clay  consisted  in  the  fact  that  appropriations  for 
internal  improvements  were,  at  that  early  period,  a 
novelty  in  Federal  legislation,  and  this  proposition 
possessed  the  nature  and  aspect  of  a  pioneer  in  that 
commendable  policy.  This  was  also  the  first  illus- 
tration of  the  great  system  of  Internal  Improvements 
to  which  Mr.  Clay  was  attached  through  life,  and  in 
the  promotion  of  which  many  of  his  ablest  and  most 
successful  efforts  were  made.  This  is  the  policy  to 
which  the  term  "American  System"  has  been  so  ap- 
propriately applied,  as  tending  to  promote  the  interests 
of  this  country,  in  opposition  to  that  of  foreign  gov- 
ernments and  communities.  This  great  doctrine  was 
embodied  and  expressed  in  the  following  resolution, 
which  he  proposed  and  advocated  at  this  period,  and 
which  was  passed  with  but  three  opposing  votes : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be 
directed  to  prepare  and  report  to  the  Senate,  at  their 
next  session,  a  plan  for  the  application  of  such  means 
as  are  within  the  power  of  Congress,  to  the  purposes 
of  opening  roads  and  making  canals;  together  with 
a  statement  of  undertakings  of  that  nature,  which,  as 
objects  of  public  improvement,  may  require  and  de- 
eerve  the  aid  of  Government;  and,  also,  a  statement 
of  works,  of  the  nature  mentioned,  which  have  been, 
commenced,  the  progress  which  has  been  made  in 

c 


84  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

them,  and  the  means  and  prospect  of  their  being  com- 
pleted ;  and  all  such  information  as,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Secretary,  shall  be  material  in  relation  to  tha 
objects  of  this  resolution." 

The  office  to  fill  which  Mr.  Clay  had  been  chosen, 
expired  at  the  end  of  the  first  session  of  his  incum- 
bency. In  the  summer  of  1807,  he  was  elected  to 
represent  the  citizens  of  Fayette  County  in  the  Ken- 
tucky Legislature.  He  displayed  his  usual  ability 
and  zeal  in  this  important  post;  and  among  the  most 
effective  speeches  which  he  delivered,  was  one  in  op- 
position to  a  proposition  to  exclude  all  references  to 
English  decisions  and  law  reports,  or  elementary 
works  on  British  law,  in  the  trial  of  causes  in  the 
courts  of  Kentucky.  Before  he  addressed  the  House 
on  this  subject,  a  large  majority  of  the  members  were 
in  favor  of  it.  So  strong  was  the  prejudice  which 
then  existed  against  English  despotism,  either  politi- 
cal or  juridical,  that  it  was  deemed  a  step  toward  the 
more  complete  removal  of  the  yoke  which  had  once 
been  worn  by  Americans,  to  overturn  the  authority 
which  English  jurisprudence  still  exercised  over  the 
minds  of  American  lawyers,  and  over  the  decisions 
of  American  courts.  The  sagacious  mind  of  Mr. 
Clay  r3adily  discerned  the  falsehood  and  folly  of  this 
doctrine,  and  he  opposed  it  with  all  his  abilities.  He 
depicted  the  absurdity  of  depriving  ourselves  of  those 
great  and  invaluable  stores  of  legal  learning  which 
had  been  elaborated  during  the  lapse  of  several  ages, 
by  the  patient  toils  of  the  most  gifted  and  powerful 
intellects  which  the  world  had  ever  seen,  simply  be- 
cause they  were  identified  with  British  institutions 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  85 

and  interests.  He  amended  the  motion  so  that  it  re- 
lated only  to  the  exclusion  of  those  decisions  which 
had  been  made  subsequent  to  the  4th  of  July,  1776, 
and  carried  his  proposition  by  a  very  large  majority. 

It  was  during  this  term  of  service  in  the  Legislature 
of  Kentucky,  in  December,  1808,  that  he  introduced 
a  series  of  resolutions  approving  the  Embargo,  con- 
demning the  British  Orders  in  Council,  and  asserting 
that  Mr.  Jefferson  deserved  the  thanks  of  his  country 
for  the  ability,  energy,  and  patriotism  which  he  had 
displayed  during  his  administration  of  public  affairs. 
These  resolutions  were  opposed  with  great  bitterness 
by  Humphrey  Marshall ;  and  when  afterward  Mr.  Clay 
proposed  that  the  members  of  the  Legislature  should 
wear  no  clothing  except  such  as  was  of  domestic 
manufacture,  Mr.  Marshall  denounced  the  proposition 
as  the  expedient  of  a  demagogue,  and  held  it  up  to 
ridicule.  The  result  of  such  displays  of  personal 
animosity,  which  Mr.  Clay  resented  with  much  spirit, 
was,  that  a  hostile  meeting  subsequently  took  place 
between  the  rival  statesmen.  Both  parties  were 
slightly  wounded,  and  the  quarrel  was  then  settled 
by  the  interposition  of  mutual  friends. 

Mr.  Clay  still  continued  to  be  the  recipient  of  pub- 
lic offices  of  trust  from  the  Legislature  of  his  adopted 
State.  He  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned 
in  the  Senate  of  the  "United  States  by  the  resignation 
of  Mr.  Thurston  ;  and  in  the  winter  term  of  1809-10, 
he  represented  Kentucky  in  the  Senate.  The  period 
for  which  he  was  elected  to  serve  was  t\vo  years;  and 
during  that  interval  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  all 
the  important  discussions  which  -engaged  the  atteu 


30  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

tion  of  the  Federal  Government.  His  ablest  speech, 
at  this  period  of  his  career,  was  delivered  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  validity  of  the  claim  of  the  United 
States  to  the  territory  lying  between  the  Mississippi 
and  Perdido  rivers,  which  comprised  the  larger  por- 
tion of  Western  Florida.  This  territory  was  claimed 
by  Spain  as  a  part  of  her  Florida  possessions.  Mr. 
Madison,  who  was  then  President,  had  issued  a  pro- 
clamation, asserting  that  this  tract  belonged  to  the 
Orleans  territory,  and  therefore  subject  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  United  States.  The  party  in  the  nation, 
and  in  Congress  opposed  to  Mr.  Madison's  administra- 
tion, usually  termed  the  Federalist,  condemned  this 
position,  and  asserted  that  the  territory  belonged  to 
Spain,  and  that  England,  as  her  ally,  should  assist 
her  in  defending  her  pretensions  and  her  prerogatives 
over  it.  Mr.  Clay  vehemently  and  eloquently  de- 
fended Mr.  Madison  and  his  positions.  The  speech 
which  lie  delivered  on  this  occasion  was  the  ablest 
which  had  }-et  proceeded  from  him  in  the  National 
Legislature.  The  spirit  and  tone  which  characterized 
it  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  extracts: 

"What,  then,  is  the  true  construction  of  the  Trea- 
ties of  St.  Ildefonso,  and  of  April,  1803,  whence  our 
title  is  derived  ?  If  any  ambiguity  exist  in  a  grant, 
the  interpretation  most  favorable  to  the  grantee  is  pre- 
ferred. It  was  the  duty  of  the  grantor  to  express 
himself  in  plain  and  intelligible  terms.  This  is  the 
doctrine,  not  of  Coke  only  (whose  dicta,  I  admit,  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  question),  but  of  the  code  of 
universal  law.  The  doctrine  is  entitled  to  augmented 
Ibroe,  when  a  clause  only  of  the  instrument  is  ex 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  37 

Tii.iiW.,  in  which  clause  the  ambiguity  lurks,  and  tho 
residue  of  the  instrument  is  kept  back  by  the  grantor. 
The  entire  Convention  of  1762,  by  which  France 
transferred  Louisiana  to  Spain,  is  concealed,  and  the 
whole  of  the  Treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso,  except  a  solitary 
clause.  We  are  thus  deprived  of  the  aid  which  a  full 
view  ^f  both  of  those  instruments  would  aftbrd.  But 
we  h&ve  no  occasion  to  resort  to  any  rules  of  construc- 
tion, "lowever  reasonable  in  themselves,  to  establish 
our  ttle.  A  competent  knowledge  of  the  facts  con- 
necte  1  with  the  case,  and  a  candid  appeal  to  the  Trea- 
ties, s  re  alone  sufficient  to  manifest  our  right.  The 
negotiators  of  the  Treaty  of  1803  having  signed,  with 
the  SMine  ceremony,  two  copies,  one  in  English  and 
the  olher  in  the  French  language,  it  has  been  con- 
tended that  in  the  English  version,  the  term  *  cede* 
has  been  erroneously  used  instead  of  'retrocede,' 
which  is  the  expression  in  the  French  copy.  And  it 
is  argued  that  we  are  bound  by  the  phraseology  of  the 
French  copy,  because  it  is  declared  that  the  Treaty 
was  agreed  to  in  that  language.  It  would  not  be 
very  unfair  to  inquire  if  this  is  not  like  the  common 
case  in  private  life,  where  individuals  enter  into  a 
contract,  of  which  each  party  retains  a  copy,  duly 
executed.  In  such  case,  neither  has  the  preference. 
AVe  might  as  well  say  to  France,  we  will  cling  by  the 
English  copy,  as  she  could  insist  upon  an  adherence 
to  the  French  copy ;  and  if  she  urged  ignorance  on 
the  part  of  M.  Marbois,  her  negotiator,  of  our  Ian- 
guage,  we  might  with  equal  propriety  plead  ignor- 
ance on  the  part  of  our  negotiators  of  her  lanoruasre. 

*  o  £•*        o 

As  this,  however,  is  a  disputable  point,  I  do  not  avail 
4 


88  THELIFEANDTIMES 

myself  of  it;  gentlemen  shall  have  the  full  benefit  of 
the  expressions  in  the  French  copy.  According  to 
this,  then,  in  reciting  the  Treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso,  it  is 
declared  by  Spain,  in  1800,  that  she  retrocedes  to 
France  the  Colony  or  Province  of  Louisiana,  with  the 
same  extent  which  it  then  had  in  the  hands  of  Spain, 
and  which  it  had  when  France  possessed  it,  and  such 
as  it  should  be  after  the  Treaties  subsequently  entered 
into  between  Spain  and  other  States.  This  latter 
member  of  the  description  has  been  sufficiently  ex- 
plained by  my  colleague. 

"It  is  said  that  since  France,  in  1762,  ceded  to 
Spain  only  Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
Island  of  New  Orleans,  the  retrocession  comprehended 
no  more  —  that  the  retrocession  ex  vi  termini  was  com- 
mensurate with,  and  limited  by,  the  direct  cession 
from  France  to  Spain.  If  this  were  true,  then  the 
description,  such  as  Spain  held  it,  that  is  in  1800, 
comprising  West  Florida,  and  such  as  France  pos- 
sessed it,  that  is  in  1762,  prior  to  the  several  cessions, 
comprising  also  "West  Florida,  would  be  totally  in- 
operative. But  the  definition  of  the  term  retrocession 
contended  for  by  the  other  side,  is  denied.  It  does 
not  exclude  the  instrumentality  of  a  third  par.ty.  It 
means  restoration,  or  re-conveyance  of  a  thing  origin- 
ally ceded,  and  so  the  gentleman  from  Delaware  ac- 
knowledged. I  admit  that  the  thing  restored  must 
have  come  to  the  restoring  party  from  the  party  to 
whom  it  is  retroceded:  whether  directly,  or  indirectly, 
is  wholly  immaterial.  In  its  passage  it  may  have 
come  through  a  dozen  hands.  The  retroceding  party 
must  claim  under  and  in  virtue  of  the  right  originally 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  89 

possessed  by  the  party  to  whom  the  retrocession  takes 
place.  Allow  me  to  put  a  case:  You  own  an  estate 
called  Louisiana.  You  convey  one  moiety  of  it  to 
the  gentleman  from  Delaware,  and  the  other  to  me ; 
he  conveys  his  moiety  to  me,  and  I  thus  become  enti- 
tled to  the  whole.  By  a  suitable  instrument  I  re- 
convey,  or  retrocede,  the  estate  called  Louisiana  to 
you  as  I  now  hold  it,  and  as  you  held  it;  what  passes 
to  you  ?  The  whole  estate,  or  my  moiety  only  ?  Let 
me  indulge  another  supposition  — that  the  gentleman 
from  Delaware,  after  he  received  from  you  his  moiety, 
bestowed  a  new  denomination  upon  it,  and  called  it 
"West  Florida,  would  that  circumstance  vary  the 
operation  of  my  act  of  retrocession  to  you  ?  The  case 
supposed  is,  in  truth,  the  real  one  between  the  United 
States  and  Spain.  France,  in  17C2,  transfers  Louis- 
iana., west  of  the  Mississippi,  to  Spain,  and  at  the 
same  time  conveys  the  eastern  portion  of  it,  exclusive 
of  Xew  Orleans,  to  Great  Britain.  Twenty-one  yeara 
after,  that  is,  in  1783,  Great  Britain  cedes  her  part 
to  Spain,  who  thus  becomes  possessed  of  the  entire 
province  —  one  portion  by  direct  cession  from  France, 
and  the  residue  by  indirect  cession.  Spain  then  held 
the  whole  of  Louisiana  under  France,  and  in  virtue 
of  the  title  of  France.  The  whole  moved  or  passed 
from  France  to  her.  When,  therefore,  in  this  state 
of  things,  she  says,  in  the  Treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso, 
that  she  retrocedes  the  province  to  France,  can  a 
doubt  exist  that  she  parts  with,  and  gives  back  to 
France,  the  entire  colony?  To  preclude  the  possi- 
bility of  such  a  doubt,  she  adds,  that  she  restores  it, 
not  in  a  mutilated  condition,  but  in  that  precise  coa« 


40  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

dition  in  which  France  had,  and  she  herself,  pos» 
sessed  it. 

"  Having  thus  shown,  as  I  conceive,  a  clear  right 
in  the  United  States  to  West  Florida,  I  proceed  to 
inquire  if  the  proclamation  of  the  President,  direct- 
ing the  occupation  of  property  which  is  thus  fairly 
acquired  by  solemn  treaty,  be  an  unauthorized  mea- 
sure of  war,  and  of  legislation,  as  has  been  contended? 

"The  Act  of  October,  1803,  contains  two  sections, 
by  one  of  which  the  President  is  authorized  to  occupy 
the  territories  ceded  to  us  by  France  in  the  April  pre- 
ceding. The  other  empowers  the  President  to  esta- 
blish a  provisional  government  there.  The  first  sec- 
tion is  unlimited  in  its  duration;  the  other  is  restricted 
to  the  expiration  of  the  then  session  of  Congress.  The 
Act,  therefore,  of  March,  1804,  declaring  that  the  pre- 
vious Act  of  October  should  continue  in  force  until 
the  1st  of  October,  1804,  is  applicable  to  the  second, 
and  not  the  first  section,  and  was  intended  to  con- 
tinue the  provisional  government  of  the  President. 
By  the  Act  of  24th  February,  1804,  for  laying  duties 
on  goods  imported  into  the  ceded  territories,  the  Pre- 
sident is  empowered,  whenever  he  deems  it  expedient, 
to  erect  the  Bay  and  River  Mobile,  &c.,  into  a  sepa- 
rate district,  and  to  establish  therein  a  port  of  entry 
and  delivery.  By  this  same  act  the  Orleans  Territory 
is  laid  off,  and  its  boundaries  are  so  defined  as  to  com- 
prehend West  Florida.  By  other  acts,  the  President 
is  authorized  to  remove  by  force,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, persons  settling  on  or  taking  possession 
of  lands  ceded  to  the  United  States. 

"  These  laws  furnish  a  legislative  construction  of 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  41 

the  treaty,  corresponding  with  that  given  \)y  the  Exe- 
cirtive;  and  they  indisputably  vest,  in  this  branch  of 
the  General  Government,  the  power  to  take  posses- 
sion  of  the  country,  whenever  it  might  be  proper,  in 
his  discretion.  The  President  has  not,  therefore, 
violated  the  Constitution,  and  usurped  the  war-making 
power;  but  he  would  have  violated  that  provision 
which  requires  him  to  see  that  the  laws  are  faithfully 
executed,  if  he  had  longer  forborne  to  act.  It  is  urged 
that  he  has  assumed  powers  belonging  to  Congress, 
in  undertaking  to  annex  the  portion  of  West  Florida, 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Perdido,  to  the  Or- 
leans Territory.  But  Congress,  as  has  been  shown, 
has  already  made  this  annexation,  the  limits  of  the 
Orleans  Territory,  as  prescribed  by  Congress,  compre- 
hending the  country  in  question.  The  President,  by 
his  proclamation,  has  not  made  law,  but  has  merely 
declared  to  the  people  of  West  Florida  what  the  law 
is.  This  is  the  office  of  a  proclamation,  and  it  was 
highly  proper  that  the  people  of  that  Territory  should 
be  thus  notified.  By  the  act  of  occupying  the  coun- 
try, the  government  de.  facto,  whether  of  Spain  or  the 
revolutionists,  ceased  to  exist;  and  the  laws  of  the 
Orleans  Territory,  applicable  to  the  country,  by  the 
operation  and  force  of  law  attached  to  it.  But  this 
was  a  state  of  things  which  the  people  might  not 
know,  and  which  every  dictate  of  justice  and  humanity 
therefore  required  should  be  proclaimed.  I  consider 
the  bill  before  us  merely  in  the  light  of  a  declaratory 
law." 

4* 


12  THE     LIFE     AND     TIMES 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PROPOSAL  TO  RECHARTER  THE  UNITED  STATES  BANK  —  MR.  CLAY  OP- 
POSES IT —  SUBSEQUENT  CHANGE  IN  HIS  OPINIONS — REASONS  FOR 
THAT  CHANGE MR.  CLAY  ELECTED  TO  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESEN- 
TATIVES— IS  CHOSEN  SPEAKER — ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  HOSTILITIES 

AGAINST  THE  UNITED  STATES MR.  CLAY  IN  FAVOR  OF  WAR  WITH 

ENGLAND  —  HOSTILITIES  COMMENCED EVENTS  OF  THE  WAR MR. 

CLAY  APPOINTED  COMMISSIONER  TO  GHENT TREATY  OF  PEACE  — 

MR.  CLAY'S  RETURN  HOME. 

DURING  the  session  of  Congress  which  was  held  in 
the  winter  of  1811,  the  most  exciting  and  important 
subject  which  demanded  the  attention  of  the  Federal 
Representatives,  was  the  proposition  to  renew  the 
charter  of  the  United  States  Bank.  The  Legislature 
of  Kentucky  had  instructed  Mr.  Clay  to  oppose  that 
measure ;  and  this  suggestion  corresponded  with  the 
sentiments  which  he  himself  entertained  at  that  time. 
It  is  well  known  that  lie  subsequently  changed  his 
opinions  on  this  subject,  and  the  reasons  which  he 
gave  for  this  apparent  inconsistency, — the  only  one  of 
a  theoretical  kind  which  his  political  and  personal 
opponents  were  ever  able  to  allege  against  him, — de- 
serve to  be  stated. 

The  arguments  which  had  convinced  him  of  the 
impropriety  of  rechartering  the  bank  in  1811  were 
three :  1.  He  believed  that  the  corporation  had  abused 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  43 

their  powers  during  the  previous  period  of  their  exist- 
ence. 2.  The  authority  to  create  a  corporation  like 
that  of  the  United  States  Bank,  was  not  specifically 
granted  in  the  Federal  Constitution.  3.  His  consti- 
tuents had  expressly  instructed  him  to  vote  against 
the  measure.  At  a  subsequent  period  he  became  con- 
vinced of  the  fallacy  of  the  arguments  which  were 
urged  in  opposition  to  the  Bank;  and  in  a  speech  de- 
livered in  Lexington,  Kentucky,  in  1816,  he  stated  at 
length  the  considerations  which  had  altered  his  con- 
victions on  the  subject.  These  are  so  important,  and 
the  question  is  in  itself  of  so  grave  a  nature,  that  we 
may  appropriately  quote  an  extract  from  his  speech 
on  that  occasion : 

"  How  stood  the  case  in  1816,  when  he  was  called 
upon  again  to  examine  the  power  of  the  general 
government  to  incorporate  a  National  Bank?  A 
total  change  of  circumstances  was  presented — events 
of  the  utmost  magnitude  had  intervened.  A  gene- 
ral suspension  of  specie  payments  had  taken  place, 
and  this  had  led  to  a  train  of  consequences  of  the 
most  alarming  nature.  He  beheld,  dispersed  over 
the  immense  extent  of  the  United  States,  about  three 
hundred  banking  institutions,  enjoying  in  different 
degrees  the  confidence  of  the  public,  shaken  us  to 
them  all,  under  no  direct  control  of  the  General 
Government,  and  subject  to  no  actual  responsibility 
to  the  State  authorities.  These  institutions  were 
emitting  the  actual  currency  of  the  United  States — a 
currency  consisting  of  a  paper  on  which  they  neither 
paid  interest  nor  principal,  while  it  was  exchanged 
for  the  paper  of  the  community  on  which  both  were 


44  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

paid.  He  sav;  these  institutions  in  fact  exercising 
what  had  been  considered,  at  all  times  and  in  all 
countries,  one  of  the  highest  attributes  of  sove- 
reignty, the  regulation  of  the  current  medium  of  the 
country.  They  were  no  longer  competent  to  assist 
the  treasury  in  either  of  the  great  operations  of  col- 
lection, deposite,  or  distribution,  of  the  public  reve- 
nues. In  fact,  the  poper  which  they  emitted,  and 
which  the  treasury,  from  the  force  of  events,  found 
itself  constrained  to  receive,  was  constantly  obstruct- 
ing the  operations  of  that  department.  For  it  would 
accumulate  where  it  was  not  wanted,  and  could  riot 
be  used  where  it  was  wanted  for  the  purposes  of 
government,  without  a  ruinous  imd  arbitrary  broker- 
age. Every  man  who  paid  oi*  received  from  the 
government,  paid  or  received  as  much  less  than  he 
ought  to  have  done,  as  was  the  difference  between  the 
medium  in  which  the  payment  was  effected  and 
specie.  Taxes  were  no  longer  uniform.  In  New 
England,  where  specie  payments  have  not  been  sus- 
pended, the  people  were  called  upon  to  pay  larger 
contributions  than  where  they  were  suspended.  In 
Kentucky  as  much  more  was  paid  by  the  people  in 
their  taxes  than  was  paid,  for  example,  in  the  State 
of  Ohio,  as  Kentucky  paper  was  worth  more  than 
Ohio  paper.  Air.  Clay  said,  he  determined  to  examine 
the  question  with  as  little  prejudice  as  possible  arising 
from  his  former  opinion.  lie  knew  that  the  safest 
course  to  him,  if  he  pursued  a  cold,  calculating  pru- 
dence, was  to  adhere  to  that  opinion,  right  or  wrong. 
He  was  perfectly  aware,  that  it'  he  changed,  or  seemed 
to  change  it,  he  should  expose  himself  to  some  cen- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  45 

sure.  But,  looking  at  the  subject  with  the  light  shed 
upon  it  by  events  happening  since  the  commencement 
of  the  war,  he  could  no  longer  doubt.  A  bank  ap- 
peared to  him  not  only  necessary,  hut  indispensably 
necessary,  in  connection  with  another  measure,  to 
remedy  the  evils  of  which  all  were  but  too  sensible. 
He  preferred  to  the  suggestions  of  the  pride  of  con- 
sistency, the  evident  interests  of  the  community,  and 
determined  to  throw  himself  upon  their  candor  and 
justice.  That  which  appeared  to  him  in  1811,  under  the 
state  of  tilings  then  existing,  not  to  be  necessary  to  the 
General  Government,  seemed  now  to  be  necessary, 
under  the  present  state  of  things.  Had  he  then  foreseen 
what  now  exists,  and  no  objection  had  lain  against  the 
renewal  of  the  charter  other  than  that  derived  from 
the  Constitution,  he  should  have  voted  for  the  removal. 
"  Other  provisions  of  the  Constitution,  but  little 
noticed,  if  noticed  at  all,  in  the  discussions  in  Con- 
gress in  1811,  would  seem  to  urge  that  body  to  exert 
all  its  powers  to  restore  to  a  sound  state  the  money 
of  the  country.  That  instrument  confers  upon  Con- 
gress the  power  to  coin  money,  and  to  regulate  the 
value  of  foreign  coins;  and  the  States  are  prohibited 
to  coin  money,  to  emit  bills  of  credit,  or  to  make  any- 
thing but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of 
debts.  The  plain  inference  is,  that  the  subject  of  the 
general  currency  was  intended  to  be  submitted  exclu- 
sively to  the  General  Government.  In  point  of  fact, 
however,  the  regulation  of  the  general  currency  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  State  governments,  or,  which  is  the 
same  thing,  of  the  banks  created  by  them.  Their 
paper  has  every  quality  of  money,  except  that  )f 


46  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

being  made  a  tender,  and  even  tins  is  imparted  to  it 
by  some  States,  in  the  law  by  which  a  creditor  must 
receive  it,  or  submit  to  a  ruinous  suspension  of  the 
payment  of  his  debt.  It  was  incumbent  upon  Con- 
gress to  recover  the  control  which  it  had  lost  over  the 
general  currency." 

During  the  period  of  Mr.  Clay's  second  term  of 
service  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  a  variety 
of  important  subjects  came  up  for  discussion  in  that 
body  ;  in  all  of  which  he  took  a  prominent  part.  As 
a  reward  for  his  services,  and  as  a  proof  of  their 
proper  appreciation  by  his  constituents,  he  was 
elected  by  a  large  majority  on  the  4th  of  November, 
1811,  to  represent  them  in  the  Lower  House  at  AVash- 
ington.  On  entering  this  branch  of  the  Nationa. 
Legislature,  Mr.  Clay  received  the  rare  compliment 
of  being  chosen  Speaker,  by  a  majority  of  thirty-one. 
It  may  be  proper  to  remark  here  that  this  honor  was 
conferred  upon  him  continuously  from  1811  till  1825, 
except  during  his  absence  from  the  country  as  one  of 
the  Commissioners  of  the  United  States  Government 
at  Ghent,  and  at  a  subsequent  period  when  he  volun- 
tarily withdrew  himself  from  public  affairs.  Seven 
terms  successively  was  he  selected  to  fill  that  difficult 
and  important  post,  —  a  distinction  which  we  believe 
has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  no  other  American  statesman. 
Nor  is  this  phenomenon  difficult  of  solution,  when 
we  remember  the  remarkable  qualifications  which 
Mr.  Clay  possessed  for  that  high  office.  No  man 
ever  presided  over  the  deliberations  of  a  public  as- 
sembly with  more  dignit}*,  courtesy,  and  decision ; 
none  with  a  more  familiar  acquaintance  with  all  the 


OFHENRYCLAY.  47 

rules  of  parliamentary  usage,  and  of  the  proprieties 
of  debate,  than  he. 

That  was  an  important  and  critical  period  in  tho 
history  of  the  United  States.  England  and  Franco 
had  been  perpetrating  a  long  series  of  outrages  on 
our  commerce,  and  innumerable  insults  had  been, 
heaped  on  the  national  honor.  The  pretext  by  which 
the  French  Government  excused  the  offensive  acts 
of  its  citizens,  was  the  legitimate  operation  of  the 
Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees  of  Napoleon.  The  English 
Government  pretended  to  excuse  the  seizure  of  Ame- 
rican ships,  and  the  confiscation  of  American  pro- 
perty, on  the  ground  that,  as  the  United  States  had 
been  the  ally  of  France,  they  were  justified  in  inclu- 
ding them  in  the  operation  of  their  retaliatory  mea- 
sures. Serious  and  earnest  remonstrances  from  the 
Federal  Government,  addressed  to  the  French  Empe- 
ror, resulted  in  the  termination  of  the  aggressive  acts 
of  his  subjects  toward  us;  but  England  turned  a  deaf 
ear  to  every  appeal,  and  treated  every  expostulation 
with  contempt. 

This  state  of  affairs  continued  during  a  year  after 
the  repeal  of  the  decrees  of  Napoleon.  In  addition 
to  the  seizure  of  American  vessels  on  the  hiorh  seas, 

o  * 

the  impressment  of  American  sailors  in  British  ports 
was  practised ;  and  the  insults  which  were  offered  to 
the  flag  of  the  United  States  became  so  extreme  and 
glaring,  that  further  forbearance  not  only  ceased  to 
be  a  virtue,  but  had  degenerated  into  a  craven  vice. 
Nevertheless,  two  parties  then  existed  among  Ameri- 
can statesmen  as  to  the  policy  and  propriety  of  de- 
claring war  against  England.  Mr  Clay  became  the 


48  THELIFEANDTIMES 

bold  and  enthusiastic  leader  of  the  party  in  favor  of 
declaring  war.  In  appointing  the  committees  of  the 
House,  he  selected  those  whose  views  sympathized 
with  his  own  on  this  subject.  A  resolution  was  offered, 
to  the  effect  that  the  United  States  be  immediately 
put  into  the  attitude  of  defence  demanded  by  the 
crisis.  Mr.  Clay  advocated  it,  and  another  of  similar 
tendency,  providing  for  the  raising  of  twenty-live 
thousand  troops.  He  also  advocated  the  increase  of 
the  navy,  by  the  immediate  construction  of  ten  fri- 
gates. This  bill  was  passed  in  the  House  in  January, 
1812.  On  the  1st  day  of  the  succeeding  April,  the 
President,  Mr.  Madison,  sent  a  message  to  Congress 
recommending  that  a  general  embargo  be  laid  on  all 
foreign  vessels  then  in  port.  Mr.  Clay  declared  in  an 
able  speech  that  he  heartily  approved  of  the  measure, 
because  he  regarded  it  as  a  direct  precursor  to  the 
proclamation  of  war.  He  became  one  of  the  most 
potent  causes  which  eventually  brought  about  that 
result.  The  law  imposing  an  embargo  was  passed. 
On  the  3rd  day  of  June,  1812,  a  bill  was  reported  by 
the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  declaring  war  he- 
tvveen  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  On  the 
18th  of  that  month  it  passed  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress, and  immediately  received  the  sanction  of  the 
President.  The  advocates  of  the  war  were  necessarily 
called  upon  to  suggest  the  measures  which  were  es- 
sential to  increase  the  military  resources  of  the  coun- 
try ;  and  in  the  performance  of  this  duty  Mr.  Clay 
exhibited  his  usual  energy  and  ability.  He  urged  the 
President  to  more  active  measures.  He  inspired  the 
Cabinet  with  bis  owu  enthusiasm.  He  infused  in- 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  49 

tenser  patriotism  and  martial  ardor  into  the  generals 
of  the  Republic. 

At  length  the  war  began.  It  was  a  bold  under- 
taking for  the  United  States,  which  had  just  begun 
their  national  existence,  and  were  the  youngest  among 
the  nations,  to  cope  with  the  colossal  and  veteran 
power  of  the  Mistress  of  the  Seas,  the  only  empire 
which  could  resist  and  def}'  the  mighty  Corsican. 
The  first  events  of  the  war  were  not  such  as  to  in- 
crease the  enthusiasm  of  its  advocates.  Among  the 
disasters  which  occurred  were  the  surrender  of  the  fort 
and  town  of  Detroit  by  General  Hull,  and  the  defeat 
of  General  Van  Rensselaer  near  Niagara.  But  soon 
these  and  other  adverse  events  were  compensated  for, 
by  the  brilliant  victories  achieved  by  American  sea- 
men over  the  boasted  navy  of  England.  The  frigate 
Constitution,  commanded  by  Captain  Hull,  van- 
quished the  British  frigate  Guerriere;  and  other 
equally  significant  triumphs  followed.  It  was  not 
without  opposition  and  difficulty  that  Mr.  Clay  suc- 
ceeded in  carrying  through  Congress  those  measures 
which  were  necessary  to  provide  the  country  with 
sufficient  military  and  naval  resources  to  meet  the 
exigencies  of  the  crisis.  In  January,  1813,  a  new 
army  bill  was  proposed,  and  advocated  by  him  with 
great  eloquence.  The  following  extract  from  his 
speech  on  that  occasion  will  illustrate  the  spirit  which 
actuated  him,  and  the  ability  with  which  he  spoke: 

"  If  gentlemen  would  only  reserve  for  their  own 

Government,  half  the  sensibility  which  is  indulged 

for  that  of  Great  Britain,  they  would  find  much  less 

to  condemn.     Restriction  after  restriction  has  been 

5  D 


50  TIIELIFEANDTIMES 

tried;  negotiation  has  been  resorted  to,  until  further 
negotiation  would  have  been  disgraceful.  While 
these  peaceful  experiments  are  undergoing  a  trial, 
what  is  the  conduct  of  the  opposition  ?  They  are  the 
champions  of  war — the  proud — the  spirited — the  sole 
repository  of  the  nation's  honor — the  men  of  exclu- 
sive vigor  and  energy.  The  Administration,  on  the 
contrary,  is  weak,  feeble,  and  pusillanimous  —  'inca- 
pable of  being  kicked  into  a  war.'  The  maxim,  'not 
a  cent  for  tribute,  millions  for  defence,'  is  loudly  pro- 
claimed. Is  the  Administration  for  negotiation?  The 
opposition  is  tired,  sick,  disgusted  with  negotiation. 
They  want  to  draw  the  sword,  and  avenge  the  nation's 
wrongs.  "When,  however,  foreign  nations,  perhaps 
emboldened  by  the  very  opposition  here  made,  refuse 
to  listen  to  the  amicable  appeals  which  have  been 
repented  and  reiterated  by  the  Administration,  to 
their  justice  and  to  their  interest  —  when,  in  fact,  war 
•\\illi  one  of  them  has  become  identified  with  our  in- 
dependence and  our  sovereignty,  and  to  abstain  from 
it  was  no  longer  possible,  behold  the  opposition  veer- 
ing round  and  becoming  the  friends  of  peace  and 
commerce.  They  tell  you  of  the  calamities  of  war, 
its  tragical  events,  the  squandering  away  of  your  re- 
sources, the  waste  of  the  public  treasure,  and  the 
spilling  of  innocent  blood.  'Gorgons,  hydras,  and 
chimeras  dire.'  They  tell  you,  that  honor  is  an  illu- 
sion !  Now,  we  see  them  exhibiting  the  terrific  forms 
of  the  roaring  king  of  the  forest.  Now,  the  meek- 
ness and  humility  of  the  lamb !  They  are  for  war 
and  no  restrictions,  when  the  Administration  is  for 
peace.  They  are  for  peace  and  restrictions,  when  ike 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  51 

Administration  is  for  war.  You  find  them,  sir,  tack' 
ing  with  every  gale,  displaying  the  colors  of  every 
party,  and  of  all  nations,  steady  only  in  one  unalter- 
able purpose — to  steer,  if  possible,  into  the  haven  of 
power. 

"During  all  this  time,  the  parasites  of  opposition 
do  not  fail,  by  cunning  sarcasm,  or  sly  inuendo,  to 
throw  out  the  idea  of  French  influence,  which  is 
known  to  be  false,  which  ought  to  be  met  in  one 
manner  only,  and  that  is  by  the  lie  direct.  The  Ad-, 
ministratipn  of  this  country  devoted  to  foreign  influ- 
ence !  The  Administration  of  this  country  subser- 
vient to  France  !  Great  God  !  what  a  charge  !  how 
is  it  so  influenced?  By  what  ligament,  on  what  basis, 
on  what  possible  foundation  does  it  rest?  .Is  it  simi- 
larity of  language?  ISTo!  we  speak  different  tongues, 
we  speak  the  English  language.  On  the  resemblance 

X  O  .  O  O 

of  our  laws?  No!  the  sources  of  our  jurisprudence 
spring  from  another  and  a  different  country.  On 
commercial  intercourse?  No!  we  have  comparatively 
none  with  France.  Is  it  from  the  correspondence  in, 
the  genius  of  the  two  governments?  No!  here  alone 
is  the  liberty  of  man  secure  from  the  inexorable  des- 
potism which  everywhere  else  tramples  it  under  foot. 
Where,  then,  is  the  ground  of  sucn  an  influence? 
But,  sir,  I  am  insulting  you  by  arguing  on  such  a 
subject.  Yet,  preposterous  and  ridiculous  as  the  in- 
sinuation IB  it  is  propagated  with  so  much  industry, 
that  there  are  persons  found  foolish  and  credulous 
enough  to  believe  it.  You  will,  no  doubt,  think  it 
incredible  (but  I  have  nevertheless  been  told  it  is  a 
fact),  that  an  honorable  member  of  this  House,  now 


52  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

in  my  eye,  recent!}'  lost  his  election  by  the  circulation 
of  a  silly  story  in  his  district,  that  he  was  the  first 
cousin  of  the  Emperor  Xapoleon." 

At  length  the  tide  of  victory  turned,  and  the  colo- 
nial power  of  old  England  quailed  before  the  prowess 
and  heroism  of  the  Doling  Republic.  The  Hornet, 
commanded  by  Captain  Lawrence,  vanquished  the 
British  sloop-of-war  Peacock.  York,  the  capital  of 
Upper  Canada,  fell  before  the  assaults  of  General 
Dearborn.  General  Harrison  was  triumphant  at  Fort 
Meigs.  The  Emperor  Alexander,  of  Russia,  oppor- 
tunely tendered  his  services  as  mediator  between  the 
conflicting  parties,  which  offer  was  accepted  by  both.  In 
consequence  of  this  arrangement,  Messrs.  Clay,  Galla- 
tin,  Bayard,  Adams  and  Russell,  were  chosen  to  repre- 
sent the  United  States  at  the  conference  which  was  ap- 
pointed to  be  held  at  Gottingen,  to  adjust  the  con- 
ditions of  peace.  The  deliberations  were  afterwards 
transferred  to  Ghent.  On  the  14th  of  January,  1814, 
Mr.  Clay  resigned  the  office  of  Speaker  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  soon  afterward  embarked  on 
his  distant  mission.  It  was  after  his  arrival  in  Brussels 
that  he  learned  the  disastrous  news,  that  Washington 
had  been  sacked,  and  the  public  buildings  burned  by 
the  British.  He  received  the  first  intelligence  of  these 
events  through  the  excessive  and  exultant  courtesy 
of  the  English  plenipotentiaries.  It  was  his  privi- 
lege, however,  soon  afterward  to  reciprocate  the 
compliment,  by  sending  them  the  fiivt  information 
of  the  splendid  naval  triumph  of  the  Americans  ca 
Lake  Champlain. 
During  the  deliberations  which  ensued,  Mr.  Clay 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  63 

took  a  distinguished  part.  His  bearing  toward  tho 
representatives  of  England  was  bold,  fearless,  am] 
defiant.  This  policy,  so  unusual  among  the  cautious 
and  cringing  agents  of  tyrants  and  monarchs,  accom- 
plished much  more  than  any  other  policy  could  have 
effected.  The  impression  which  he  produced  upon 
them  may  be  inferred  from  the  manner  in  which  he 
was  described,  at  that  time,  in  the  London  journals; 
which,  when  speaking  of  the  transactions  transpiring 
at  Ghent,  referred  to  him  as  "that  furious  orator, 
Clay;  the  man  who  had  killed  the  terrible  TecumseK 
with  his  own  hand,  and  cut  several  razor-strops  out 
of  his  back  after  he  was  dead !" 

The  terms  of  the  treaty  were  at  length  successfully 
adjusted.  Mr.  Clay  was  in  London  when  the  decisive 
battle  of  Waterloo  was  fought,  and  witnessed  the  ex- 
ultation and  joy  which  the  English  people  very  natu- 
rally displayed  on  that  occasion.  He  there  met  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  Lord  Castlereagh,  and  other 
distinguished  personages  —  visited  some  of  the  no- 
bility at  their  palaces  and  country-seats  by  invitation 
—  and  returned  to  the  United  States  in  September, 
1815.  On  disembarking  at  !N"ew  York,  he  was  com- 
plimented with  a  public  dinner;  and  on  arriving  at 
Lexington,  in  Kentucky,  was  greeted  by  a  large  ont- 
pouring  of  the  populace  to  welcome  him  to  his  home. 
A  few  days  afterward  a  public  dinner  was  tendered 
him  by  the  leading  inhabitants  of  that  city.  The 
sixth  toast  which  was  offered  was  as  follows :  "  Our 
able  negotiators  at  Ghent:  their  talents  for  diplo- 
macy have  kept  pace  with  the  valor  of  our  armies  in 
demonstrating  to  the  enemy  that  these  States  will  bo 
5* 


54  THB    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

free."     In  reply  to  this  well-deserved   compliment, 
Mr.  Clay  made  the  following  remarks: 

"  I  feel  myself  called  on,  by  the  sentiment  just  ex- 
pressed, to  return  my  thanks,  in  behalf  of  my  col- 
leagues and  myself.  I  do  not,  and  am  quite  sure 
they  do  not,  feel  that,  in  the  service  alluded  to,  they 
are  at  all  entitled  to  the  compliment  which  has  been 
paid  thorn.  We  could  not  do  otherwise  than  reject 
the  demand  made  by  the  other  party;  and  if  our 
labors  finally  terminated  in  an  honorable  peace,  it 
was  owing  to  causes  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
not  to  any  exertions  of  ours.  Whatever  diversity  of 
opinion  may  have  existed  as  to  the  declaration  of  the 
war,  there  are  some  points  on  which  all  may  look 
back  with  proud  satisfaction.  The  first  relates  to  the 
time  of  the  conclusion  of  the  peace.  Had  it  been 
made  immediately  after  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  we 
should  have  retired  humiliated  from  the  contest,  be- 
lieving that  we  had  escaped  the  severe  chastisement 
with  which  we  were  threatened ;  and  that  we  owed 
to  the  generosity  and  magnanimity  of  the  enemy, 
what  we  were  incapable  of  commanding  by  our  arms. 
That  magnanimity  would  have  been  the  theme  of 
every  tongue,  and  of  every  press,  abroad  and  at  home. 
We  should  have  retired  unconscious  of  our  own 
strength,  and  unconscious  of  the  utter  inability  of  the 
enemy,  with  his  whole  undivided  force,  to  make  any 
serious  impression  upon  us.  Our  military  character, 
then  in  the  lowest  state  of  degradation,  would  have 
been  un retrieved.  Fortunately  for  us,  Great  Britain, 
chose  to  try  the  issue  of  the  last  campaign.  And  the 
of  the  last  campaign  has  demonstrated,  in  the 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  65 

repulse  before  Baltimore,  the  retreat  from  Platts- 
burgh,  the  hard-fought  action  on  the  aSTiagara  frontier, 
and  in  that  most  glorious  day,  the  8th  of  January, 
that  we  have  always  possessed  the  finest  elements  of 
military  composition,  and  that  a  proper  use  of  them 
only  was  necessary  to  ensure  for  the  army  and  militia 
a  fame  as  imperishable  as  that  which  the  navy  had 
previously  acquired. 

"  Another  point  which  appears  to  me  to  afford  the 
highest  consolation  is,  that  we  fought  the  most  power- 
ful nation,  perhaps,  in  existence,  single-handed  and 
alone,  without  any  sort  of  alliance.  More  than  thirty 
years  has  Great  Britain  been  maturing  her  physical 
means,  which  she  had  rendered  as  efficacious  as  pos- 
sible, by  skill,  by  discipline,  and  by  actual  service. 
Proudly  boasting  of  the  conquest  of  Europe,  she  vainly 
flattered  herself  with  the  easy  conquest  of  America 
also.  Her  veterans  were  put  to  flight,  or  defeated, 
while  all  Europe  —  1  mean  the  government  of  Europe 
—  was  gazing  with  cold  indifference,  or  sentiments 
of  positive  hatred  of  us,  upon  the  arduous  contest. 
Hereafter  no  monarch  can  assert  claims  of  grati- 
tude upon  us,  for  assistance  rendered  in  the  hour  of 
danger. 

"There  is  another  view  of  which  the  subject  of  the 
war  is  fairly  susceptible.  From  the  moment  that 
Great  Britain  came  forward  at  Ghent  with  her  extra- 
vagant demands,  the  war  totally 'changed  its  charac- 
ter. It  became,  as  it  were,  a  new  war.-  It  wa.-*  no 
longer  an  American  war,  prosecuted  for  redress  of 
British  aggressions  upon  American  rights,  but  be- 
came a  British  war,  prosecuted  for  objects  of  British 


66  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

ambifion,  to  be  accompanied  by  American  sacrifices. 
And  what  were  those  demands?  Here,  in  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood  of  a  sister  State  and  Territories, 
which  were  to  be  made,  in  part,  the  victims,  they 
must  have  been  felt,  and  their  enormity  justly  appre- 
ciated. They  consisted  of  the  erection  of  a  barrier 
between  Canada  and  the  United  States,  to  be  formed 
by  cutting  off  from  Ohio,  and  some  of  the  Territories, 
a  country  more  extensive  than  Great  Britain,  con- 
taining thousands  of  freemen,  who  were  to  be  aban- 
doned to  their  fate,  and  creating  a  new  power,  totally 
unknown,  upon  the  continent  of  America:  of  the  dis- 
mantling of  our  fortresses,  and  naval  power  on  the 
lakes,  with  the  surrender  of  the  military  occupation 
of  those  waters  to  the  enemy,  and  of  an  arrondixse- 
ment  for  two  British  provinces.  These  demands, 
boldly  asserted,  and  one  of  them  declared  to  be  a 
tine  qua  won,  were  finally  relinquished.  Taking  this 
view  of  the  subject,  if  there  be  a  loss  of  reputation 
by  either  party,  in  the  terms  of  the  peace,  who  has 
sustained  it? 

"The  effects  of  the  war  are  highly  satisfactory. 
Abroad  our  character,  which,  at  the  time  of  its  decla- 
ration, was  in  the  lowest  state  of  degradation,  ia 
raised  to  the  highest  point  of  elevation.  It  is  impos- 
sible for  any  American  to  visit  Europe,  without  being 
sensible  of  this  agreeable  change,  in  the  personal 
attentions  which  he  receives,  in  the  praises  which  are 
bestowed  on  our  past  exertions,  and  the  predictions 
which  are  made  as  to  our  future  prospects.  At  home, 
a  government,  which,  at  its  formation,  was  appre- 
hended by  its  best  friends,  and  pronounced  by  it? 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  5T 

enemies,  to  be  incapable  of  standing  the  shock,  ia 
found  to  answer  all  the  purposes  of  its  institution. 
In  spite  of  the  errors  which  have  been  committed 
(and  errors  have  undoubtedly  been  committed),  aided 
by  the  spirit  and  patriotism  of  the  people,  it  is  demon- 
strated to  be  as  competent  to  the  objects  of  effective 
war,  as  it  has  been  before  proven  to  be  to  the  con- 
cerns of  a  season  of  peace.  Government  has  thus 
acquired  strength  and  confidence.  Our  prospects  for 
the  future  are  of  the  brightest  kind.  With  every 
reason  to  count  on  the  permanence  of  peace,  it  re- 
mains only  for  the  government  to  determine  upon, 
military  and  naval  establishments  adapted  to  the 
growth  and  extension  of  our  country,  and  its  rising 
importance — keeping  in  view  a  gradual,  but  not 
burdensome,  increase  of  the  navy:  to  provide  for  the 
payment  of  the  interest,  and  the  redemption  of  the 
public  debt,  and  for  the  current  expenses  of  govern- 
ment. For  all  these  objects,  the  existing  sources  of 
the  revenue  promises  not  only  to  be  abundantly  suffi- 
cient, but  will  probably  leave  ample  scope  to  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  judgment  of  Congress,  in  selecting  for 
repeal,  modification,  or  abolition,  those  which  may 
be  found  most  oppressive  and  inconvenient." 


68  THELIFEANDTIMES 


CHAPTER  V. 

ESTABLISHMENT  OF  A  NATIONAL  BANK  —  MR.  CLAY'S  ADVOCACY  or 

IT PROPOSAL  TO  INCREASE  THE  SALARY  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  — 

MR.  CLAY'S  TOTE  ON  THIS  SUBJECT  —  THE  SOUTH  AMERICAN  REPUB- 
LICS—  MR.  CLAY'S  PROPOSITION  TO  SYMPATHIZE  WITH  THEM  — 
HIS  ELOQUENCE  ON  THIS  SUBJECT  —  ITS  FINAL  RESULTS — RESOLU- 
TIONS CENSURING  GENERAL  JACKSON— THE  ADMISSION  OF  MISSOURI 
TO  THE  UNION  —  THE  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE — MR.  CLAY's  RE- 
TIREMENT TO  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE HIS  ILL-HEALTH  —  RETURN 

TO  CONGRESS. 

AT  the  commencement  of  the  session  of  Congress 
of  1815-16,  President  Madison  recommended  in  his 
message  the  establishment  of  a  national  bank,  and  a 
high  protective  tariff,  as  the  most  efficacious  means 
of  remedying  the  financial  evils  which  afflicted  the 
country  immediately  after  the  termination  of  the  war. 
Air.  Clay,  on  this  occasion,  surprised  the  public  by 
the  {Viinouncement  of  that  change  in  his  opinions  to 
which  we  have  already  adverted;  and  defended  both 
of  the  measures  proposed  by  Mr.  Madison,  with  great 
zeal  and  eloquence.  The  reasons  which  he  assigned 
for  his  sudden  conversion  to  a  new  policy  were  as 
follows:  Since  1811  an  entire  change  of  circum- 
stances had  supervened.  A  suspension  of  specie 
payment  had  taken  place.  The  paper  money  issued 
by  the  United  States  Government  was  selling  at  a 
heavy  discount.  As  to  the  power  of  Congress  to 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  69 

establish  a  bank,  he  no  longer  hesitated;  for,  inas- 
much as  the  Constitution  confers  on  the  National 
Legislature  the  right  to  coin  money,  and  regulate  the 
value  of  foreign  coins;  and  as  the  States  are  forbidden 

O  t 

to  exercise  that  ris:ht,  or  emit  bills  of  credit,  he  drew 

O         '  * 

the  inference  that  Congress  possessed  exclusive  juris- 
diction over  the  whole  question  of  the  currency  of 
the  country.  In  the  exercise  of  that  jurisdiction,  the 
establishment  of  a  national  bank  was  an  obvious  and 
legitimate  measure. 

The  bill  to  re-charter  the  bank  was  discussed  with 
great  zeal  and  ability  in  both  Houses  of  Congress. 
It  was  eventually  passed  by  both,  and  then  received 
the  approval  of  the  President.  Mr.  Clay's  agency  in 
this  measure  was  severely  reprehended  by  his  poli- 
tical opponents,  but  he  had  evidently  been  guided  by 
considerations  which  he  believed  to  be  promotive  of 
the  welfare  of  the  country. 

During  the  same  session  of  Congress,  a  bill  was  in- 
troduced by  which  the  mode  of  paying  the  salaries  of 
the  members  was  changed.  It  proposed  that  instead 
of  receiving  the  sum  of  six  dollars  per  day,  as  was 
then  the  rule,  they  should  be  paid  fifteen  hundred 
dollars'per  annum.  Mr.  Clay  was  personally  in  favor 
of  a  different  arrangement  from  either  of  these ;  but 
as  a  large  majority  of  both  Houses  were  in  favor  of 
the  proposition,  he  agreed  to  it,  and  voted  for  its  pas- 
sage. He  incurred  not  a  little  opprobrium  in  conse- 
quence of  this  step,  from  some  of  his  constituents, 
and  several  anecdotes  are  still  extant,  illustrative  of 
the  manner  in  which,  in  those  primitive  times  in  Ken- 
tucky, he  was  assailed  by  the  objections  of  the  dia- 


60  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

a  fleeted,  and  how  lie  answered  and  repelled  them. 
One  of  these  is  :is  follows.  During  the  next  canvass, 
when  the  question  of  his  re-election  was  discussed,  he 
met  an  old  hunter  who  had  always  been  his  staunch 
admirer  and  partizan,  and  who  had  then  become 
alienated  from  him  in  consequence  of  his  voting  in 
favor  of  the  compensation  bill. 

"Have  you  a  good  rifle,  my  friend?"  asked  Mr. 
Clay.— "Yes."— "Does  it  ever  flash?"— "Once  only," 
he  replied.  —  "What  did  you  do  with  it  —  throw  it 
away?"  —  "No,  I  picked  the  flint,  tried  it  again,  and 
brought  down  the  game." — "Have  I  ever  flashed  but 
upon  the  compensation  bill?"  —  "No."  —  "Will  3-00, 
throw  me  away?" — "No,  no!"  exclaimed  the  hunter, 
with  enthusiasm,  nearly  overpowered  by  his  feelings; 
"I  will  pick  the  flint,  and  try  you  again!" 

On  the  5th  of  December,  1817,  the  first  session  of 
the  Fifteenth  Congress  commenced,  to  which  body 
Mr.  Clay  had  been  elected  by  a  triumphant  majority. 
He  was  again  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House.  During 
this  session  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  most 
important  discussions  which  occurred.  Prominent 
among  these  was  the  question  of  sympathy  and  aid, 
which  some  members  were  in  favor  of  extending,  from 
the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  to 
several  of  the  republics  of  South  America  which  were 
then  struggling  for  the  achievement  of  their  liberties; 
to  which  they  had  been  incited  by  the  glorious  ex- 
ample and  the  splendid  success  of  our  own  revolution. 
Mr.  Clay  was  enthusiastic  in  favor  of  this  proposition. 
Many  distinguished  representatives  opposed  it;  pro- 
minent among  whom  was  Mr.  Randolph  of  Virginia. 


OFHENRYCLAY.  61 

He  ridiculed  the  idea  of  increasing  our  standing 
arrny,  and  taxing  our  citizens  to  assist  the  inhabitants 
of  South  America,  who,  as  he  contended,  came  not 
to  our  aid  in  the  clay  of  our  necessity,  and  who  he 
declared  were  not  only  unworthy  of  the  enjoyment 
of  political  freedom,  but  did  not  even  understand  or 
comprehend  its  nature.  Several  sharp  collisions 
passed  between  Messrs.  Clay  and  Randolph  on  this 
occasion,  which  however  then  led  to  no  serious  result. 

A  proposition  was  made  in  Congress  to  send  com- 
missioners to  South  America,  to  ascertain  the  con- 
dition of  the  country.  Subsequently  Mr.  Clay  ad- 
vocated the  passage  of  a  bill,  deputing  a  minister 
from  the  United  States  to  the  Provinces  situated  on 
the  River  La  Plata  in  South  America;  and  to  appro- 
priate eighteen  thousand  dollars  as  an  outfit  for  him. 
The  measure  at  that  time  failed ;  but  Mr.  Clay's 
speech  in  favor  of  it  was  one  of  the  ablest  and  most 
eloquent  of  his  efforts;  the  following  extracts  from 
which  possess  the  deepest  interest: 

"In  contemplating  the  great  struggle  in  which 
Spanish  America  is  now  engaged,  our  attention  is 
first  fixed  by  the  immensity  and  character  of  the  coun- 
try which  Spain  seeks  again  to  subjugate.  Stretching 
on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  from  about  the  fortieth  decree  of 
north  latitude  to  about  the  fifty-fifth  degree  of  south 
latitude,  and  extending  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
del  ISTorte  (exclusive  of  East  Florida),  around  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  along  the  South  Atlantic  to  near  Cape 
Horn ;  it  is  about  five  thousand  miles  in  length,  and 
in  some  places  near  three  thousand  in  breadth.  Within 
this  vast  region  we  behold  the  most  sublime  and  iu- 
6 


62  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

teresting  objects  of  creation  :  the  loftiest  mountains, 
the  most  majestic  rivers,  in  the  world;  the  richest 
mines  of  the  precious  metals,  and  the  choicest  pro- 
ductions of  the  earth.  We  behold  there  a  spectacle 
still  more  interesting  and  sublime — the  glorious  spec- 
tacle of  eighteen  millions  of  people,  struggling  to 
burst  their  chains  and  to  be  free.  When  we  take  a 
little  nearer  and  more  detailed  view,  we  perceive  that 
nature  has,  as  it  were,  ordained  that  this  people  and 
this  country  shall  ultimately  constitute  several  dif- 
ferent nations.  Leaving  the  United  States  on  the 
north,  we  come  to  New  Spain,  or  the  viceroyalty  of 
Mexico  on  the  south ;  passing  by  Guatemala,  we  reach 
the  viceroyalty  of  New  Grenada,  the  late  captain- 
generalship  of  Venezuela,  and  Guiana,  lying  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Andes.  Stepping  over  the  Brazils, 
we  arrive  at  the  United  Provinces  of  La  Plata;  and 
crossing  the  Andes,  we  find  Chili  on  their  west  side, 
and,  further  north,  the  viceroyalty  of  Lima,  or  Peru. 
Each  of  these  several  parts  is  sufficient  in  itself,  in 
point  of  limits,  to  constitute  a  powerful  State;  and, 
in  point  of  population,  that  which  has  the  smallest 
contains  enough  to  make  it  respectable.  Throughout 
all  the  extent  of  that  great  portion  of  the  world, 
which  I  have  attempted  thus  hastily  to  describe,  the 
spirit  of  revolt  against  the  dominion  of  Spain  has 
manifested  itself.  The  revolution  has  been  attended 
with  various  degrees  of  success  in  the  several  parts 
of  Spanish  America.  In  some  it  has  been  already 
crowned,  as  I  shall  endeavor  to  show,  with  complete 
success,  and  in  all  I  am  persuaded  that  independence 
has  struck  such  deep  root,  that  the  power  of  Spain 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  63 

can  never  eradicate  it.     "What  are  the  causes  of  this 
great  movement  ? 

'•In  the  establishment  of  the  independence  of  Spa- 
ir.ch  America,  the  United  States  have  the  deepest  in- 
terest. I  have  no  hesitation  in  asserting  my  firm 
belief,  that  there  is  no  question  in  the  foreign  policy 
of  this  country,  which  has  ever  arisen,  or  which  I  can 
•  conceive  as  ever  occurring,  in  the  decision  of  which 
we  have  had  or  can  have  so  much  at  stake.  This  in- 
terest concerns  our  politics,  our  commerce,  our  navi- 
gation. There  can  not  be  a  doubt  that  Spanish  Ame- 
rica, once  independent,  whatever  may  be  the  form  of 
the  governments  established  in  its  several  parts,  these 
governments  will  be  animated  by  an  American  feel- 
ing' and  guided  by  an  American  policy.  They  will 
obey  the  laws  of  the  system  of  the  new  world,  of 
which  they  will  compose  a  part,  in  contradistinction 
to  that  of  Europe.  Without  the  influence  of  that 
vortex  in  Europe,  the  balance  of  power  between  itrf 
several  parts,  the  preservation  of  which  has  so  often 
drenched  Europe  in  blood,  America  is  sufficiently  re- 
mote to  contemplate  the  new  wars  which  are  to  affiict 
that  quarter  of  the  globe,  as  a  calm,  if  not  a  cold  and 
indifferent  spectator.  In  relation  to  those  wars,  the 
several  parts  of  America  will  generally  stand  neutral. 
And  as,  during  the  period  when  they  rage,  it  will  be 
important  that  a  liberal  system  of  neutrality  should 
be  adopted  and  observed,  all  America  will  be  inte- 
rested in  maintaining  and  enforcing  such  a  system. 
The  independence  of  Spanish  America,  then,  is  an 
interest  of  primary  consideration.  Next  to  that,  and 
highly  important  in  itself,  is  the  consideration  of  the 


64  THELIFEANDTIMES 

nature  of  their  governments.  That  is  a  question, 
however,  for  themselves.  They  will,  no  doubt,  adopt 
those  kinds  of  governments  which  are  best  suited  to 
their  condition,  best  calculated  for  their  happiness. 
Anxious  as  I  am  that  they  should  be  free  govern- 
ments, we  have  no  right  to  prescribe  for  them.  They 
are,  and  ought  to  be,  the  sole  judges  for  themselves. 
I  am  strongly  inclined  to  believe  that  they  will  in 
most,  if  npt  all  parts  of  their  country,  establish  free 
governments.  We  are  their  great  example.  Of  us 
the}r  constantly  speak  as  of  brothers,  having  a  similar 
origin.  They  adopt  our  principles,  copy  our  institu- 
tions, and,  in  many  instances,  employ  the  very  lan- 
guage and  sentiments  of  our  revolutionary  papers. 

"But  it  is  sometimes  said,  that  they  are  too  igno- 
rant and  too  superstitions  to  admit  of  the  existence 
of  free  government.  This  charge  of  ignorance  is 
often  urged  by  persons  themselves  actually  ignorant 
of  the  real  condition  of  that  people.  I  deny  the  al- 
leged fact  of  ignorance ;  I  deny  the  inference  from 
that  fact,  if  it  were  true,  that  they  want  capacity  for 
free  government ;  and  I  refuse  assent  to  the  further 
conclusion,  if  the  fact  were  true,  and  the  inference 
just,  that  we  are  to  be  indifferent  to  their  fate.  All 
the  writers  of  the  most  established  authority,  Depons, 
Humboldt,  and  others,  concur  in  assigning  to  the 
people  of  Spanish  America,  great  quickness,  genius, 
and  particular  aptitude  for  the  acquisition  of  the  exact 
sciences,  and  others  which  they  have  been  allowed  to 
cultivate.  In  astronomy,  geolog}*,  mineralogy,  che- 
mistry, botany,  and  so  forth,  they  are  allowed  to  make 
distinguished  proficiency.  They  justly  boast  of  their 


OFHENRYCLAY.  65 

Abzaie,  Yelasques,  and  Gama,  and  other  illustrious 
contributors  to  science.  They  have  nine  universities, 
and  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  it  is  affirmed  by  Hum- 
boldt,  that  there  are  more  solid  scientific  establish- 
ments than  iu  any  city  even  of  North  America.  I 
would  refer  to  the  message  of  the  supreme  director 
of  La  Plata,  which  I  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to 
use  for  another  purpose,  as  a  model  of  fine  composi- 
tion of  a  State  paper,  challenging  a  comparison  with 
any,  the  most  celebrated,  that  ever  issued  from  tho 
pens  of  Jefferson  or  Madison.  Gentlemen  will  egre- 
giously  err,  if  they  form  their  opinions  of  the  present 
moral  condition  of  Spanish  America,  from  what  it 
was  under  the  debasing  system  of  Spain.  The  eight 
years'  revolution  in  which  it  has  been  engaged,  has 
already  produced  a  powerful  effect.  Education  has 
been  attended  to,  and  genius  developed.  It  is  the 
doctrine  of  thrones,  that  man  is  too  ignorant  to  govern 
himself.  Their  partizans  assert  his  incapacity,  iu  re- 
ference to  all  nations ;  if  they  cannot  command  uni- 
versal assent  to  the  proposition,  it  is  then  demanded  as 
to  particular  nations;  and  our  pride  and  presumption 
too  often  make  converts  of  us.  I  contend,  that  it  is  to 
arraign  the  dispositions  of  Providence  Himself,  to  sup- 
pose that  He  has  created  beings  incapable  of  governing 
themselves,  and  to  be  trampled  on  by  kings.  Self- 
government  is  the  natural  government  of  man,  and 
for  proof,  I  refer  to  the  aborigines  of  our  own  land. 
Were  I  to  speculate  in  hypotheses  unfavorable  to 
human  liberty,  my  speculations  should  be  founded 
rather  upon  the  vices,  refinements,  or  density  of  popu- 
lation. Crowded  together  in  compact  masses, 
6*  B 


66  THELIFEANDTIMES 

if  they  -were  philosophers,  the  contagion  of  the  pas. 
sions  is  communicated  and  caught,  and  the  effect  too 
often,  I  admit,  is  the  overthrow  of  liberty.  Dispersed 
over  such  an  immense  space  as  that  on  which  the 
people  of  Spanish  America  are  spread,  their  physical, 
and  I  believe  also  their  moral  condition,  both  favor 
their  liberty." 

Although  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Clay  on  this  occasion 
were  not  successful,  he  accomplished  his  noble  pur- 
pose at  a  later  day.  In  February,  1821,  he  offered  a 
resolution  to  the  effect,  that  the  American  Congress 
regarded  the  struggles  of  the  South  American 
republics  for  the  establishment  of  their  liberties 
with  great  interest;  and  suggesting  that  the  Pre- 
sident of  the  United  States  should  recognize  the 
national  independence.  The  motion  eventually  pre- 
vailed; and  in  March,  1822,  the  President  sent  in  a 
message  recommending  that  Congress  should  then 
recognize  the  South  American  republics  as  free  and 
independent  sovereignties.  The  suggestion  was  ap- 
proved after  a  full  discussion,  and  passed  with  but  a 
single  dissenting  voice.  In  the  accomplishment  of 
this  propitious  result,  the  agency  of  Mr.  Clay  was 
prominent  and  decisive.  It  was  he  who  had  brought  it 
to  pass.  His  exertions  in  behalf  of  the  Republics  of 
South  America  were  duly  appreciated,  and  their  obliga- 
tions to  him  were  acknowledged  by  them.  The  illus- 
trious Bolivar  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Clay,  in  which 
he  gave  expression  to  the  feelings  of  gratitude  and 
admiration  which  he  and  all  his  compatriots  felt  for 
the  heroic  position  which  Mr.  Clay  had  taken,  and 
for  the  honorable  results  which  he  had  achieved,  in 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  67 

their  behalf,  and  through  them,  for  the  cause  of  uni- 
versal liberty. 

An  exciting  topic  of  discussion  which  arose  in  Con- 
gress during  the  term  of  1819,  was  a  proposition  which 
was  introduced  to  censure  the  conduct  of  General 
Jackson  during  his  campaign  in  Florida,  where  he  had 
imposed  the  most  cruel  conditions  upon  the  Indians, 
and  had  punished  some  of  them  with  the  most  un- 
paralled  rigor.  Mr.  Clay  was  in  favor  of  the  passage 
of  the  bill ;  for  although  he  was  willing  to  excuse  the 
intentions  of  the  General  as  being  pure  and  innocent, 
his  acts  he  stigmatized  as  outrageous  and  unjustifiable. 
Both  Houses  afterward  passed  resolutions  which  con- 
tained qualified  censures  of  the  extreme  measures  of 
the  Hero  of  New  Orleans ;  to  which  result  Mr.  Clay 
effectually  contributed. 

It  was  soon  after  this  event,  during  the  session  of 
1820—21,  that  the  subject  of  slavery  first  assumed  an 
important  and  threatening  aspect  in  the  deliberations 
of  the  National  Legislature.  A  proposition  was  then 
made  to  admit  Missouri  into  the  Union ;  and  the 
point  of  controversy  was,  whether  she  should  be  re- 
ceived as  a  free  or  as  a  slave  State.  When  Ohio, 
Indiana  and  Illinois  were  admitted,  in  which  slavery 
did  not  then  exist,  Congress  expressly  excluded 
slavery  in  future  from  their  limits.  Missouri  was  a 
part  of  the  territory  of  Louisiana,  which  had  been 
purchased  from  France  in  1803;  and  in  it  slavery  al- 
ready prevailed,  and  had  been  long  established.  The 
States  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  and 
Alabama,  had  also  been  received;  but  as  slavery 
existed  in  them  at  the  period  of  their  admission, 


68  THELIFEANDTIMES 

nothing  was  said  against  the  continuance  of  the  in- 
stitution. It  was  alleged  that  Missouri  was  placed 
precisely  in  the  same  situation,  and  that  she  should 
be  received  on  precisely  the  same  conditions,  and  her 
domestic  institutions  be  not  interfered  with.  On  the 
other  hand  it  was  urged,  that  Congress  possessed  the 
right  to  impose  whatever  conditions  they  chose  on 
new  States  and  Territories ;  that  the  evident  intention 
of  the  Federal  Government  was  not  to  extend  slavery, 
having  prohibited  its  introduction  into  new  States 
which  were  formed,  or  to  be  formed,  out  of  the  North- 
western Territory;  and  that  slavery  was  in  itself  so 
infamous  a  thing,  that  it  ought  to  be  crushed  and  ex- 
tirpated wherever  an  opportunity  for  so  doing  was 
presented. 

This  question  was  discussed  with  greaf  zeal ;  and 
the  excitement  respecting  it  became  intense,  not 
merely  in  Congress  but  throughout  the  Union.  In 
1820  the  inhabitants  of  Missouri  proceeded  to  adopt 
a  Constitution ;  and  in  it  there  was  a  clause  which 
forbade  free  negroes  and  mulattoes  from  coming  into 
the  Territory,  or  settling  in  it,  on  any  pretext.  This 
measure  tended  to  increase  the  existing  excitement, 
and  to  complicate  the  difficulty.  The  discussions  in 
Congress  in  reference  to  the  admission  of  Missouri 
continued  to  be  animated  and  bitter.  On  the  10th 
of  February  Mr.  Clay  introduced  a  resolution  with  the 
view  to  adjust  the  difficulty,  and  calm  the  popular 
commotion,  which  had  assumed  a  portentous  aspect. 
This  resolution  embodied  the  famous  Missouri  Com- 
promise. After  a  full  and  protracted  discussion,  it 
was  rejected  in  a  Committee  of  the  Whole,  by  a  vote 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  69 

df  seventy-three  to  sixty-four.  Nevertheless  he  was 
not  disheartened;  and  at  a  subsequent  period,  on  the 
2oth  of  the  month,  the  same  measure  was  proposed  a 
second  time  by  Mr.  Clay,  and  supported  by  the  most 
remarkable  displays  of  his  eloquence.  His  efforts  in 
this  instance  were  successful.  The  resolution  which 
was  thus  carried  was  as  follows : 

"  It  is  provided  that  the  said  State  shall  never  pass 
any  law  preventing  any  description  of  persons  from 
coming  to  and  settling  in  the  said  State,  who  now  are 
or  hereafter  may  become  citizens  of  any  of  the  States 
of  this  Union ;  and  provided  also,  that  the  Legislature 
of  the  said  State,  by  a  solemn  public  act,  shall  declare 
the  assent  of  the  said  State  to  the  said  fundamental 
condition,  and  shall  transmit  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  on  or  before  the  fourth  Monday  in 
November  next,  an  authentic  copy  of  the  said  act; 
upon  the  receipt  whereof,  the  President,  by  procla- 
mation, shall  announce  the  fact;  whereupon,  and 
without  any  further  proceedings  on  the  part  of  Con- 
gress,  the  admission  of  the  said  State  into  the  Union 
shall  be  considered  as  complete :  And  provided,  fur- 
ther, that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed 
to  take  from  the  State  of  Missouri,  when  admitted 
into  the  Union,  the  exercise  of  any  right  or  power 
which  can  now  be  constitutionally  exercised  by  any 
of  the  original  States." 

By  obtaining  the  passage  of  this  law,  and  the  adop- 
tion of  this  famous  Compromise,  Mr.  Clay  averted 
the  evils  of  anarchy  and  disunion  which  then  threat- 
ened the  Confederacy  in  a  more  imminent  and  appal- 
ling manner  than  has  ever  since  been  the  case;  and 


7(T  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

thereby  earned  a  permanent  and  potent  claim  to  the 
gratitude  of  his  countrymen. 

After  the  attainment  of  this  propitious  result,  Mr. 
Clay  determined  to  retire  for  a  time  from  the  public 
councils  of  the  nation.  His  private  affairs  had  be- 
come embarrassed,  by  endorsing  largely  for  a  friend ; 
and  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  retrieve  his  pecu- 
niary fortunes  by  devotion  to  his  professional  pur- 
suits. Accordingly  he  withdrew  from  the  public  ser- 
vice in  1821,  and  remained  in  Kentucky  during  nearly 
three  years.  In  the  summer  of  1823  he  accepted  a 
renomination  to  Congress,  and  was  elected  almost 
without  opposition.  During  the  period  of  his  retire- 
ment he  had  been  industriously  engaged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  the  law,  until  he  was  arrested  by  ill  health. 
During  the  early  part  of  1823  he  became  so  much 
reduced  that  his  life  was  despaired  of,  and  he  himself 
anticipated  death.  He  visited  the  Olympian  Springs, 
in  Kentucky;  but  notwithstanding  this  expedient,  and 
the  best  medical  treatment,  he  declined  still  more. 
"\Vhen  chosen  to  represent  his  old  constituents  in  Con- 
gress  in  1823,  he  scarcely  expected  to  live  to  assume 
the  duties  of  his  post.  Nevertheless  he  journeyed  by 
slow  stages  to  Washington  ;  and  that  journey,  part 
of  which  he  purposely  made  on  foot,  exerted  a  magic 
effect  upon  his  constitution,  and  restored  him  to  his 
usual  vigor  and  health.  At  the  opening  of  the  first 
session  of  the  Eighteenth  Congress  in  December, 
1823,  he  was  again  elected  Speaker  on  the  first  ballot. 


OFHENRYCLAT.  71 


CHAPTER  VI. 

RECOGNITION  OF  THE   FREEDOM  OF  GREECE  —  THE   SUBJECT  OF  PROTEC- 
TION OF  AMERICAN  INDUSTRY — MR.  CLAY'S  SPEECH  RESPECTING  IT 

VISIT  OF  LAFAYETTE    TO  U.  S. IS    RECEIVED   BY    MR.  CLAY    IN    THE 

HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  OF  1824 — • 

RIVAL    CANDIDATES MR.   ADAMS    ELECTED    PRESIDENT MR.  CLAT 

APPOINTED  SECRETARY  OF  STATE — CHARGE  OF  "BARGAIN  AND  SALE" 
—ITS  FALSEHOOD  AND  MALIGNITY — MR.  CLAY'S  SELF-VINDICATION. 

DURING  the  winter  term  of  1824  of  Congress,  Mr. 
Clay  took  an  active  part  in  inducing  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  to  recognize  the  freedom  of 
Greece,  and  to  send  thither  a  commissioner  instructed 
to  express  the  sympathy  of  this  nation  with  the 
Greeks,  in  the  heroic  struggles  which  they  were  then 
making  against  the  debasing  tyranny  of  the  Turks. 
Daniel  Webster  introduced  the  resolution  to  that 
effect;  Mr.  Clay  advocated  it  with  unrivalled  elo- 
quence. Nevertheless,  the  measure  was  not  then, 
adopted,  in  consequence  of  prudential  reasons;  but 
Mr.  Clay  consummated  his  hopes  on  this  subject  at  a 
subsequent  period,  while  Secretary  of  State. 

In  January,  1824,  the  subject  of  American  indus- 
try, and  the  protection  of  American  manufactures, 
occupied  the  attention  of  Congress.  Mr.  Clay  took 
a  prominent  part  in  the  discussion,  and  on  the  30tL 
of  March  delivered  his  celebrated  oration  on  the  sub- 


,-*2  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

ject,  which  is  justly  regarded  as  a  master-piece  of  elo- 
quence and  argument.  In  the  exordium  he  depicted 
with  thrilling  power  the  then  desperate  condition  of 
the  country,  and  afterward  proceeded  to  discuss  the 
causes  which  produced  it,  and  the  remedies  which 
alone  could  cure  the  evil.  In  this  debate  Mr.  Webster 
exerted  his  utmost  to  overthrow  the  positions  defended 
by  Mr.  Clay,  who  replied  to  the  profound  arguments 
of  that  statesman  with  ability  equal  to  his  own ;  and 
on  no  occasion  during  the  progress  of  their  eventful 
lives,  were  the  remarkable  and  very  dissimilar  talents 
of  these  great  men  more  prominently  drawn  out,  or 
exhibited  in  clearer  and  more  striking  contrast.  The 
tariff  bill  which  Mr.  Clay  advocated  passed  the 
House  on  the  16th  of  April,  1824,  and  soon  afterward 
obtained  all  the  necessary  sanctions  of  law. 

In  August,  1824,  General  Lafayette  visited  the 
United  States,  and  was  received  by  Congress.  It  be- 
came the  duty  of  Mr.  Clay,  as  Speaker  of  the  House, 
to  address  the  illustrious  visitor;  which  he  did  with 
great  appropriateness  and  success.  The  General  re- 
tained through  life  a  grateful  remembrance  of  the 
agency  of  Mr.  Clay  on  that  occasion,  and  of  the 
ability  with  which  he  discharged  the  function  assigned 
him.  His  subsequent  sentiments  toward  Mr.  Clay 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that,  in  1832,  he  de- 
clared to  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Navy  who 
was  his  guest,  when  pointing  to  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Clay : 
"  That  is  the  man  whom  I  hope  to  see  President  of 
the  United  States." 

Mr.  Clay  felt  it  his  duty  to  differ  from  President 
Monroe  on  many  important  questions  of  public  policy; 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  73 

yet  the  feelings  which  existed  between  them  were  the 
most  friendly.  Mr.  Clay  was  offered  a  seat  in  the 
Cabinet,  and  the  liberty  to  select  all  the  foreign  ap- 
pointments. But  he  declined  the  offer,  being  more 
desirous  to  serve  his  country  in  the  less  distinguished 
and  more  difficult  post  which  he  then  occupied. 

The  Presidential  campaign  of  1824  was  one  of 
great  excitement  and  virulence.  Mr.  Clay  had  been 
nominated  by  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  Kentucky,  as  a  suitable  person  to  succeed 
Mr.  Monroe  as  President  of  the  United  States;  and 
that  event  placed  him  in  a  prominent  position  as  a 
candidate  before  the  country.  The  proposal  was  en- 
dorsed by  similar  recommendations  in  Missouri,  Lou- 
isiana, and  Ohio,  which  increased  its  importance. 
The  rival  candidates  for  that  high  post  were  John 
Quincy  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  William  H.  Craw- 
ford, of  Georgia,  and  Andrew  Jackson,  of  Tennessee. 
It  soon  became  evident  that  the  election  would  not 
be  made  by  the  people,  but  that,  according  to  the 
provisions  of  the  Constitution,  it  would  pass  into  the 
House  of  Representatives.  It  soon  became  evident, 
also,  that  in  consequence  of  the  relative  strength  of 
the  four  candidates  already  named,  the  ultimate  power 
of  determining  who  should  be  chosen,  would  fall  into 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Clay's  electors,  which  was  equivalent 
to  placing  it  in  his  own.  His  conduct  and  preferences 
under  these  delicate  and  critical  circumstances,  as- 
sumed the  highest  importance,  and  attracted  the 
closest  scrutiny.  Until  this  date  Mr.  Clay  had  been 
recognized  by  the  nation  as  a  Jeffersonian  Democrat. 
Mr.  Adams  was  well  known  as '  a  Whig  and  Federal- 


74  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

ist ;  General  Jackson  as  a  staunch  and  ultra  Demo- 
crat; Mr.  Crawford's  extreme  ill  health  rendered 
him  almost  a  nominal  candidate,  and  unfit  for  the 
performance  of  the  duties  of  the  office,  to  which  he 
had  been  named  chiefly  as  a  testimony  of  apprecia- 
tion of  his  previous  and  valuable  services  to  the 
country. 

Mr.  Clay  had  never  been  an  admirer  of  the  hero  of 
New  Orleans,  and  entertained  serious  apprehensions 
as  to  the  soundness  of  his  views,  and  the  safety  and 
wisdom  of  his  policy  in  public  affairs.  Yet  as  both 
were  Democrats,  it  was  confidently  anticipated  by  the 
nation  at  large,  that  ultimately  Mr.  Clay  would  be 
constrained  to  accord  him  his  support,  and  place  him 
in  the  Presidential  chair.  Soon  indications  began  to 
be  apparent,  that  such  an  expectation  would  be  dis- 
appointed; and  the  first  note  of  alarm  at  his  threat- 
ened disaffection  to  the  party  with  which  he  had  pre- 
viously acted,  was  a  letter  which  appeared  in  the 
"Columbian  Observer,"  a  party  paper  then  published 
in  Philadelphia,  in  which  it  was  boldly  charged  that 
Mr.  Clay  was  about  to  sell  himself  for  office  to  the 
successful  candidate,  whoever  that  might  be.  The 
implication  was,  that  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Clay  had 
formed  a  compact,  by  which  the  votes  of  the  parti- 
sans of  the  latter  were  to  be  given  for  Mr.  Adams. 
The  authorship  of  this  letter  was  afterward  acknowl- 
edged by  Mr.  George  Kremer,  an  obscure  representa- 
tive from  Pennsylvania.  Afterward,  when  Mr.  Adams 
was  elected  President,  and  Mr.  Clay  was  appointed 
by  him  Secretary  of  State,  the  evidence  seemed  to  be 
conclusive,  that  there  was  some  truth  in  the  charge; 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  lO 

and  thus  began  the  malignant  and  groundless  impu- 
tation of  "bargain  and  sale"  which  afterward  haunted 
the  ears  of  Mr.  Clay  through  the  remainder  of  his 
lite,  and  became  the  most  effective  weapon  in  the 
hands  of  his  enemies,  in  thwarting  his  upward  path- 
way to  the  highest  office  in  the  nation. 

Even  at  that  period,  so  loud  was  the  clamor  raised 
in  reference  to  this  infamous  charge,  in  support  of 
which  not  the  slightest  proof  was  ever  adduced,  that 
Mr.  Clay  was  compelled  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
House  to  the  matter,  and  he  demanded  an  inves- 
tigation in  reference  to  it.  A  committee  was  there- 
fore appointed  in  February,  1825,  composed  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  House.  Mr.  Kremer  was 
summoned  before  them,  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing 
proofs  in  support  of  the  charge  which  he  had  preferred 
against  Mr.  Clay.  Previous  to  this  summons,  Mr. 
Kremer  had  boldly  declared  his  readiness  and  ability 
to  furnish  conclusive  proofs  of  the  truth  of  the  allega- 
tions which  he  had  made;  when,  however,- he  was 
required  by  the  committee  to  fulfil  his  promises  and 
pretensions,  he  evaded  them  by  declaring  that  he 
could  not  appear  before  the  committee,  except  either 
as  an  accuser  or  a  witness,  neither  of  which  charac- 
ters he  was  willing  to  assume.  The  committee  re- 
ported to  this  effect,  and  thus  the  official  aspects  of 
the  proceeding  terminated.  But  so  deep  an  impression 
was  subsequently  produced  upon  the  public  mind  by 
Mr.  Clay's  presence  in  the  cabinet  of  Mr.  Adams, 
that  the  calumny  obtained  the  credence  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  community.  That  it  was  a  calumny  is 
evident  from  two  conclusive  reasons :  Mr.  Adams,  as 


76  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

well  as  Mr.  Clay,  both  denied  the  truth  of  the  charge 
eubsequently  in  the  most  solemn  manner;  and  not 
the  slightest  proof  was  ever  adduced  to  sustain  it, 
either  by  Kremer,  or  by  any  of  his  most  desperate 
and  malignant  confederates. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  1827,  Mr.  Clay  visited  Ken- 
tucky, while  still  Secretary  of  State  under  Mr.  Adams. 
He  addressed  large  assemblages  of  his  former  con 
stituents;  and  at  a  public  dinner  embraced  a  favor- 
able opportunity  to  advert  at  length  to  the  oft-repeated 
and  loudly-asserted  charge  of  corruption,  in  reference 
to  this  subject.  In  the  progress  of  his  remarks  on 
that  occasion,  he  thus  expressed  himself: 

"  In  February,  1825,  it  was  my  duty,  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  this  district,  to  vote  for  some  one  of  the 
three  candidates  for  the  Presidency  who  were  returned, 
to  the  House  of  Representatives.  It  has  been  esta- 
blished, and  can  be  further  proved,  that,  before  I  left 
this  State  the  preceding  fall,  I  communicated  to  seve- 
ral gentlemen  of  the  highest  respectability,  my  fixed 
determination  not  to  vote  for  General  Jackson.  The 
friends  of  Mr.  Crawford  asserted  to  the  last,  that  the 
condition  of  his  health  was  such  as  to  enable  him  to 
administer  the  duties  of  the  office.  I  thought  other- 
wise, after  I  reached  Washington  city,  and  visited 
him  to  satisfy  myself ;  and  thought  that  physical  im- 
pediment, if  there  were  no  other  objections,  ought  to 
prevent  his  election.  Although,  the  delegations  from 
four  States  voted  for  him,  and  his  pretensions  were 
zealously  pressed  to  the  very  last  moment,  it  has  been 
of  late  asserted,  and  I  believe  by  some  of  the  very 
persons  who  then  warmly  espoused  his  cause,  that 


Or    HENRY    CLAY.  77 

his  incompetency  was  so  palpable  as  clearly  to  limit 
the  choice  to  two  of  the  three  returned  candidates. 
In  my  view  of  my  duty,  there  was  no  alternative  but 
that  which  I  embraced.  That  I  had  some  objections 
to  Mr.  Adams,  I  am  ready  freely  to  admit;  but  these 
did  not  weigh  a  feather  in  comparison  with  the 
greater  and  insurmountable  objections,  long  and  de- 
liberately entertained  against  his  competitor.  I  take 
this  occasion,  with  great  satisfaction,  to  state,  that  my 
objections  to  Mr.  Adams  arose  chiefly  from  apprehen- 
sions which  have  not  been  realized.  I  have  found 
him,  at  the  head  of  the  government,  able,  enlightened, 
patient  of  investigation,  and  ever  ready  to  receive 
with  respect,  and,  when  approved  by  his  judgment, 
to  act  upon  the  counsels  of  his  official  advisers.  1 
add,  with  unmixed  pleasure,  that,  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  government,  with  the  exception  of  Mr. 
Jefferson's  administration,  no  chief  magistrate  has 
found  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  so  united  on  all 
public  measures,  and  so  cordial  and  friendly  in  all 
their  intercourse,  private  and  official,  as  these  are  of 
the  present  President. 

"Had  I  voted  for  General  Jackson,  in  opposition 
to  the  well-known  opinions  which  I  entertained  of 
him,  one-tenth  part  of  the  ingenuity  and  zeal  which 
have  been  employed  to  excite  prejudices  against  me, 
would  have  held  me  up  to  universal  contempt ;  and 
what  would  have  been  worse,  /  should  have  felt  that 
I  really  deserved  it. 

"Before  the  election,  an  attempt  was  made,  by  an 
abusive  letter,  published  in  the  Columbian  Observer, 
at  Philadelphia,  a  paper  which,  as  has  since  trans 
7* 


78  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

pi  red,  was  sustained  by  Mr.  Senator  Eaton,  the  col- 
league, the  friend,  and  the  biographer  of  General 
Jackson,  to  assail  my  motives,  and  to  deter  me  in  the 
exercise  of  my  duty.  This  letter  being  avowed  by 
Mr.  George  Kremer,  I  instantly  demanded  from  the 
House  of  Representatives  an  investigation.  A  com- 
mittee was  accordingly,  on  the  5th  day  of  February, 
1825,  appointed  in  the  rare  mode  of  balloting  by  the 
House,  instead  of  by  selection  of  the  Speaker.  It  was 
composed  of  some  of  the  leading  members  of  that 
body,  not  one  of  whom  was  rny  political  friend  in  the 
preceding  Presidential  canvass.  Although  Mr.  Kre- 
mer, in  addressing  the  House,  had  declared  his  wil- 
lingness to  bring  forward  his  proofs,  and  his  readiness 
to  abide  the  issue  of  the  inquiry,  his  fears,  or  other 
counsels  than  his  own,  prevailed  upon  him  to  take 
refuge  in  a  miserable  subterfuge.  Of  all  possible  pe- 
riods, that  was  the  most  fitting  to  substantiate  the 
charge,  if  it  was  true.  Every  circumstance  was  then 
fresh  ;  the  witnesses  all  living  and  present;  the  elec- 
tion not  yet  complete;  and  therefore  the  imputed 
corrupt  bargain  not  fulfilled.  All  these  powerful 
considerations  had  no  weight  with  the  conspirators 
and  their  accessories,  and  they  meanly  shrunk  from 
even  an  attempt  to  prove  their  charge,  for  the  best  of 
all  possible  reasons  —  because,  being  false  and  fabri- 
cated, they  could  adduce  no  proof  which  was  not 
false  and  fabricated. 

"During  two  years  and  a  half  which  have  now  in- 
tervened, a  portion  of  the  press  devoted  to  the  cause 
of  General  Jackson,  has  been  teeming  with  the  vilest 
calumnies  against  me;  and  the  charge,  under  every 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  79 

chameleon  form,  has  been  a  thousand  times  repeated. 
Up  to  this  this  time,  I  have  in  vain  invited  investiga- 
tion, and  demanded  evidence.  None,  not  a  particle, 
has  been  adduced. 

"The  extraordinary  ground  has  been  taken,  that 
the  accusers  were  not  bound  to  establish  by  proof  the 
guilt  of  their  designated  victim.  In  a  civilized,  Chris- 
tian, and  free  community,  the  monstrous  principle 
has  been  assumed,  that  accusation  and  conviction  are 
synonymous ;  and  that  the  persons  who  deliberately 
bring  forward  an  atrocious  charge  are  exempt  from 
all  obligations  to  substantiate  it!  And  the  pretext 
is,  that  the  crime,  being  of  a  political  nature,  is 
shrouded  in  darkness,  and  incapable  of  being  sub- 
stantiated. But  is  there  any  real  difference,  in  this 
respect,  between  political  and  other  offences?  Do  not 
all  the  perpetrators  of  crime  endeavor  to  conceal  their 
guilt,  and  to  elude  detection  ?  If  the  accuser  of  a  po- 
litical offence  is  absolved  from  the  duty  of  supporting 
his  accusation,  every  other  accuser  of  offence  stands 
equally  absolved.  Such  a  principle,  practically  car- 
ried into  society,  would  subvert  all  harmony,  peace, 
and  tranquillity.  None  —  no  age,  nor  sex,  nor  pro- 
fession, nor  calling,  would  be  safe  against  its  baleful 
and  overwhelming  influence.  It  would  amount  to  a 
universal  license  to  universal  calumny  ! 

"Xo  one  has  ever  contended  that  the  proof  shculd 
be  exclusively  that  of  eye-witnesses,  testifying  from 
their  senses  positively  and  directly  to  the  fact.  Po- 
litical, like  other  offences,  may  be  established  by  cir- 
cumstantial as  well  as  positive  evidence.  But  I  do 
contend,  that  some  evidence,  be  it  what  it  may,  ought 


80  THELIFEANDTIMES 

to  be  exhibited.  If  there  be  none,  how  do  the  accusers 
know  that  an  offence  has  been  perpetrated  ?  If  they 
do  know  it,  let  us  have  the  fact  on  which  their  con- 
viction is  based.  I  will  not  even  assert,  that,  in  pub- 
lic affairs,  a  citizen  has  not  a  right  freely  to  express 
his  opinions  of  public  men,  and  to  speculate  upon  the 
motives  of  their  conduct.  But  if  he  chooses  to  pro- 
mulgate opinions,  let  them  be  given  as  opinions. 
The  public  will  correctly  judge  of  their  value,  and 
their  grounds.  No  one  has  a  right  to  put  forth  a 
positive  assertion,  that  a  political  offence  has  been 
committed,  unless  he  stands  prepared  to  sustain, 
by  satistactory  proof  of  some  kind,  its  actual  exist- 
ence. 

"  If  he  who  exhibits  a  charge  of  political  crime  is, 
from  its  very  nature,  disabled  to  establish  it,  how 
much  more  difficult  is  the  condition  of  the  accused  ? 
How  can  he  exhibit  negative  proof  of  his  innocence, 
if  no  affirmative  proof  of  his  guilt  is,  or  can  be,  ad- 
ddced? 

"It  must  have  been  a  conviction  that  the  justice 
of  the  public  required  a  definite  charge,  by  a  re- 
sponsible accuser,  that  has,  at  last,  extorted  from 
General  Jackson  his  letter  of  the  6th  of  June,  lately 
published.  I  approach  that  letter  with  great  reluct- 
ance, not  on  my  own  account,  for  on  that,  I  do 
most  heartily  and  sincerely  rejoice  that  it  has  made 
its  appearance.  But  it  is  reluctance  excited  by  the 
feelings  of  respect  which  I  would  anxiously  have  cul- 
tivated towards  its  author.  lie  has,  however,  by  that 
letter,  created  such  relations  between  us,  that,  in  any 
language  which  I  may  employ,  in  examining  its  con- 


OF    HENRY    CL,  AT.  81 

tents,  I  feel  myself  bound  by  no  other  obligations 
than  those  which  belong  to  truth,  to  public  decorum, 
and  to  myself. 

"  The  first  consideration  which  must,  on  the  peru- 
sal of  the  letter,  force  itself  upon  every  reflecting 
mind,  is  that  which  arises  out  of  the  delicate  posture 
in  which  General  Jackson  stands  before  the  Ameri- 
can public.  He  is  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency, 
avowed  and  proclaimed.  He  has  no  competitor  at 
present,  and  there  is  no  probability  of  his  having  any, 
but  one.  The  charges  which  he  has  allowed  himself 
to  be  the  organ  of  communicating  to  the  very  public 
who  is  to  decide  the  question  of  the  Presidency, 
though  directly  aimed  at  me,  necessarily  implicate 
his  only  competitor.  Mr.  Adams  and  myself  are 
both  guilty,  or  we  are  both  innocent  of  the  imputed 
arrangement  between  us.  His  innocence  is  abso- 
lutely irreconcilable  with  my  guilt.  If  General  Jack- 
son, therefore,  can  establish  my  guilt,  and,  by  infer- 
ence, or  by  insinuation,  that  of  his  sole  rival,  he  will 
have  removed  a  great  obstacle  to  the  consummation 
of  the  object  of  his  ambition.  And  if  he  can,  at  the 
same  time,  make  out  his  own  purit}'  of  conduct,  and 
impress  the  American  people  with  the  belief  that  hi* 
purity  and  integrity  alone  prevented  his  success  be- 
fore the  House  of  Kepresentatives,  his  claims  will  be- 
come absolutely  irresistible.  Were  there  ever  more 
powerful  motives  to  propagate — was  there  ever  greater 
interest,  at  all  hazards,  to  prove  the  truth  of  charges? 

44  The  issue  is  fairly  joined.  The  imputed  oftenco 
doea  not  comprehend  a  single  friend,  but  the  col- 
lective body  of  my  friends  iii  Congress;  and  it  ao 

I 


82  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

cuses  them  of  offering,  and  me  with  sanctioning,  cor 
nipt  propositions,  derogating  from  honor,  and  in  viola- 
tion of  the  most  sacred  of  duties.  The  charge  has 
been  made  after  two  years'  deliberation.  v  General 
Jackson  has  voluntarily  taken  his  position,  and  vith- 
out  provocation.  In  voting  against  him  as  President 
of  the  United  States,  I  gave  him  no  just  cause  of 
offence.  I  exercised  no  more  than  my  indisputable 
privilege,  as,  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  of  which  I 
have  never  complained,  he  exercised  his  in  voting 
against  me  as  Secretary  of  State.  Had  I  voted  for 
him,  I  must  have  gone  counter  to  every  fixed  princi- 
ple of  my  public  life.  I  believed  him  incompetent, 
and  his  election  fraught  with  danger.  At  this  early 
period  of  the  Republic,  keeping  steadily  in  view  the 
clangers  which  had  overturned  every  other  free  State, 
I  believed  it  to  be  essential  to  the  lasting  preserva- 
tion of  our  liberties,  that  a  man,  devoid  of  civil 
talents,  and  offering  no  recommendation  but  one 
founded  on  military  service,  should  not  be  selected  to 
administer  the  government.  I  believe  so  yet;  and  1 
shall  consider  the  days  of  the  Commonwealth  num- 
bered when  an  opposite  principle  is  established."  * 

*  The  same  sentiments  were  expressed  by  Mr.  Clay,  and  the 
same  reasons  were  assigned  by  him,  for  his  conduct  on  the  memo- 
rable occasion  referred  to,  in  the  following  letter  addressed  by  him 
to  his  friend,  Judge  Brooke : 

"  WASHINGTON,  2Sth  January,  1325. 

My  DEAR  SIR: —  My  position,  in  relation  to  the  Presidential 
conte-st,  is  highly  critical,  and  such  as  to  leave  me  no  path  on 
which  I  can  move  without  censure.  I  have  pursued,  in  regard  to 
it,  the  rule  which  I  always  observe  in  the  discharge  of  my  publio 
duty.  I  have  interrogated  my  conscience  as  to  what  I  ought  to 


OF    HENRY    CLAT.  83 

do,  and  that  faithful  guide  tells  me  that  I  ought  to  rote  for  Mr 
Adams.  I  shall  fulfil  its  injunctions.  Mr.  Crawford's  state  of 
health,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  he  presents  himself  to 
the  House,  appear  to  me  to  be  conclusive  against  him.  As  a 
friend  to  liberty,  and  to  the  permanence  of  our  institutions,  I  can 
not  consent,  in  this  early  stage  of  their  existence,  by  contributing 
to  the  election  of  a  military  chieftain,  to  give  the  strongest  gua- 
rantee that  this  Republic  will  march  in  the  fatal  road  which  has 
conducted  every  other  republic  to  ruin.  I  owe  to  your  friendsnip 
this  frank  exposition  of  my  intentions.  I  am,  and  shall  continue 
to  be,  assailed  by  all  the  abuse  which  partizan  zeal,  malignity, 
and  rivalry,  can  invent.  I  shall  view,  without  emotion,  these 
effusions  of  malice,  and  remain  unshaken  in  my  purpose.  What 
is  a  public  man  worth,  if  he  will  not  expose  himself,  on  fit  occa- 
sions, for  the  good  of  his  country  ? 

"  As  to  the  result  of  the  election,  I  cannot  speak  with  al  somte 
certainty  ;  but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  we  shall  avoid 
the  dangerous  precedent  to  which  I  allude. 

II.  CUT 

The  Hon.  F.  BROOKB." 


84  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MR.  CLAT  AS  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  —  HIS  OFFICIAL  ACTIVITY  —  GENS 
BAL  JACKSON  REVIVES  THE  CIIARGE  OF  BARGAIN  AND  SALE  —  UN- 
POPULARITY OF  THE  ADAMS  ADMINISTRATION — JOHN  RANDOLPH  — 
HIS  ASSAULT  ON  MR.  CLAY — DUEL  BETWEEN  CLAY  AND  RANDOLPH — 
ITS  INCIDENTS  AND  RESULT  —  ELECTION  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON  TO 
THE  PRESIDENCY — RETURN  OF  MR.  CLAY  TO  KENTUCKY — MALIG- 
NITY AND  PERSECUTION  OF  HIS  ENEMIES — HIS  RE-ELECTION  TO 
THE  UNITED  STATES  SENATE  —  IS  NOMINATED  FOR  THE  1  AESI- 
DE\CY. 

MR.  CLAY  entered  upon  the  performance  of  his  im- 
portant duties,  as  Secretary  of  State,  on  March  5th, 
1825.  His  term  of  service  was  characterized  chiefly 
by  two  things  —  the  ability  with  which  he  performed 
the  functions  of  his  office,  and  the  malignity  with 
which  he  was  pursued  by  his  political  and  personal 
enemies,  with  the  repeated  charge  of  "  bargain  and 
sale"  in  reference  to  the  election  of  Mr.  Adams.  As 
Secretary  of  State,  his  superior  diplomatic  capacities 
were  repeatedly  and  clearly  evinced.  The  number 
of  treaties  negotiated  and  concluded  by  him  during 
four  years,  exceeded  the  whole  number  that  had  been 
consummated  by  the  United  States  Government, 
during  the  thirty-five  preceding  years  which  had 
elapsed  since  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion. Prominent  among  these  were  compacts  made 
with  Prussia,  Denmark,  Austria,  Russia,  Columbia, 


OFHENRYCLAY.  85 

and  Great  Britain.  The  claims  of  American  citizens 
on  foreign  governments  were  all  adjusted;  and  the 
political  and  commercial  relations  of  the  United 
States  with  the  various  countries  of  Europe  and  South 
America  were  arranged  in  a  satisfactory  and  com- 
mendable manner.  His  superior  tact,  penetration 
and  skill  in  managing  the  intricate  and  difficult  de- 

CJ          O 

tails  of  diplomatic  affairs,  were  pre-eminent,  and 
elicited  the  applause  of  the  representatives  of  foreign 
powers  with  whom  he  thus  came  officially  in  con- 
tact. His  letter  of  instructions  to  the  American 
Commissioner  to  the  Congress  composed  of  dele- 
gates from  the  Republics  of  Central  America,  which 
was  to  have  convened  at  Panama,  was  a  State  paper 
of  remarkable  ability ;  as  was  also  his  letter  to  the 
American  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg,  in  reference  to 
the  interposition  of  the  Russian  Government  in  ter- 
minating the  contest  then  existing  between  Spain 
and  her  colonies. 

But  if  thus  honored  in  one  department  of  his 
public  character  and  service,  Mr.  Clay  was  over- 
shadowed at  this  period  by  a  cloud  of  opprobrium 
and  detraction  in  another.  In  June,  1827,  General 
Jackson  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Carter  Beverly,  from 
his  residence  in  Tennessee,  repeating  the  charge  of 
corruption  against  Mr.  Clay,  and  asserting  that,  pre- 
vious to  the  election  of  Mr.  Adams  to  the  Presidency, 
the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay  had  tendered  him  their  sup- 
port, on  condition  that  Mr.  Clay  should  receive  the 
first  seat  in  the  Cabinet.  The  following  extract  from 
this  memorable  letter,  will  explain  the  nature  of  the 
S 


86  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

accusation   as  presented   on    the    part    of   General 
Jackson : 

"  I  will  repeat,  again,  the  occurrence,  and  to  which 
my  reply  to  you  must  have  conformed,  and  from 
which,  if  there  has  been  any  variation,  you  can  cor- 
rect it.  It  is  this :  Early  in  January,  1825,  a  member 
of  Congress,  of  high  respectability,  visited  me  one 
morning,  and  observed,  that  he  had  a  communication 
he  was  desirous  to  make  to  me  ;  that  he  was  informed 
there  was  a  great  intrigue  going  on,  and  that  it  was 
right  I  should  be  informed  of  it ;  that  he  came  as  a 
friend,  and  let  me  receive  the  communication  as  I 
might,  the  friendly  motives  through  which  it  was 
made  he  hoped  would  prevent  any  change  of  friend- 
ship or  feeling  in  regard  to  him.  To  which  I  replied, 
from  his  high. standing  as  a  gentleman  and  member 
of  Congress,  and  from  his  uniform  friendly  and  gen- 
tlemanly conduct  toward  myself,  I  could  not  suppose 
he  would  make  any  communication  to  me,  which  he 
supposed  was  improper.  Therefore,  his  motives  being 
pure,  let  me  think  as  I  might  of  the  communication, 
rny  feelings  toward  him  would  remain  unaltered. 
The  gentleman  proceeded :  He  said  he  had  been  in- 
formed by  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay,  that  the  friends 
of  Mr.  Adams  had  made  overtures  to  them,  paying, 
if  Mr.  Clay  and  his  friends  would  unite  in  aid  of  Mr. 
Adar.is's  election,  Mr.  Clay  should  be  Secretary  of 
State;  that  the  friends  of  Mr.  Adams  were  urging, 
as  a  reason  to  induce  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay  to  accede 
to  their  proposition,  that  if  I  were  elected  President, 
Mr.  Adams  would  be  continued  Secretary  of  State 
(inuendo,  there  would  be  no  room  for  Kentucky) ; 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  87 

t\.»A  «rhe  friends  of  Mr.  Clay  stated,  the  west  did  not 
wish-  to  separate  from  the  west,  and  if  I  would  say,  or 
permit  any  of  my  confidential  friends  to  say,  that  in 
case  I  were  elected  President,  Mr.  Adams  should  not 
be  continued  Secretary  of  State,  by  a  complete  union 
of  Mr.  Clay  and  his  friends,  they  would  put  an  end 
to  the  Presidential  contest  in  one  hour.  And  he  was 
of  opinion  it  was  right  to  fight  such  intriguers  with 
their  own  weapons.  To  which,  in  substance,  I  re- 
plied— that  in  politics,  as  in  everything  else,  my  guide 
was  principle  ;  and  contrary  to  the  expressed  and  un- 
biased will  of  the  people,  I  never  would  step  into  the 
Presidential  chair;  and  requested  him  to  say  to  Mr. 
Clay  and  his  friends  (for  I  did  suppose  he  had  come 
from  Mr.  Clay,  although  he  used  the  term  of  'Mr. 
Clay's  friends'),  that  before  I  would  reach  the  Presi- 
dential chair  by  such  means  of  bargain  and  corrup- 
tion, I  would  see  the  earth  open  and  swallow  both 
Mr.  Clay  and  his  friends  and  myself  with  them.  If 
thev  had  not  confidence  in  me  to  believe,  if  I  were 

*/ 

elected,  that  I  would  call  to  my  aid  in  the  Cabinet 
men  of  the  first  virtue,  talent,  and  integrity,  not  to 
vote  for  me.  The  second  day  after  this  communica- 
tion and  reply,  it  was  announced  in  the  newspapers, 
that  Mr.  Clay  had  come  out  openly  and  avowedly  in 
favor  of  Mr.  Adams.  It  may  be  proper  to  observe, 
that,  on  the  supposition  that  Mr.  Clay  was  not  privy 
to  the  propo-ition  stated,  I  may  have  done  injustice 
to  him.  If  so,  the  gentleman  informing  me  can 
explain." 

The  person  alluded  to  by  the  writer  of  the  preceding 
letter,  as  having  been  the  agent  and  spokesman  of 


88  THE    LIFE    AI?D    TIMES 

Mr.  Clay  and  his  friends,  was  the  Hon.  James  Bucha- 
nan. Being  thus  dragged  into  the  controversy,  Mr. 
Buchanan  made  a  puhlic  statement  of  his  connection 
with  the  matter;  asserting  that  he  had  called  on  Gene- 
ral Jackson  and  spoken  to  him  in  reference  to  this 
subject;  that  he  informed  the  General,  that  a  rumor 
prevailed  that  he  would  retain  Mr.  Adams  as  Secre- 
tary of  State  if  he  were  elected  President;  that  such 
a  rumor  was  operating  injuriously  to  his  interests; 
that  he  called  upon  him  as  his  friend,  to  obtain  a 
denial  of  the  fact  from  him  ;  that  he  (Mr.  Buchanan) 
had  never  been  the  personal  or  political  friend  of  Mr. 
Clay ;  and  that  he  not  only  had  no  authority  from 
Mr.  Clay  to  make  any  proposition  whatever  to  Gene- 
ral Jackson,  but  that  he  had  no  idea  that  the  General 
ever  entertained  the  impression  that  he  was  deputed 
by  Mr.  Clay  for  that  purpose. 

No  evidence  was  ever  adduced  to  prove  that  the 
friends  of  Mr.  Clay  had  made  overtures  to  the  parti- 
zans  either  of  Mr.  Adams  or  of  General  Jackson; 
much  less,  that  Mr.  Clay  was  himself  privy  to  any 
such  overtures,  if  they  had  been  made;  while  Mr. 
Adams,  on  his  side,  expressly  denied  the  charge,  as 
far  as  it  referred  to  him,  in  the  most  positive  manner, 
and  in  the  following  language : 

"  Upon  him  (Mr.  Clay)  the  foulest  slanders  have 
been  showered.  Long  known  and  appreciated,  as 
successively  a  member  of  both  Houses  of  your  Na- 
tional Legislature,  as  the  unrivaled  speaker,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  most  efficient  leader  of  debates  in  one 
of  them  ;  as  an  able  and  successful  negotiator  for 
your  interests  in  war  and  peace  with  foreign  powers, 


OP    HENRY    CLAT.  89 

and  as  a  powerful  candidate  for  the  highest  of  your 
trusts  —  the  Department  of  State  itself  was  a  station, 
which,  by  its  bestowal,  could  confer  neither  profit  nor 
honor  upon  him,  but  upon  which  he  has  shed  unfading 
honor,  by  the  manner  in  which  he  has  discharged  its 
duties.  Prejudice  and  passion  have  charged  him 
with  obtaining  that  office  by  bargain  and  corruption. 
Before  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  in  the  presence  of  our 
country  and  Heaven,  I  pronounce  that  charge  totally  un- 
founded. This  tribute  of  justice  is  due  from  me  to 
hiti>,  and  I  seize,  with  pleasure,  the  opportunity 
afforded  me  by  your  letter,  of  discharging  the  ob- 
ligation." 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Adams  was  assailed 
during  its  entire  progress  with  the  most  extraordinary 
bitterness  and  hostility.  Various  causes  led  to  this 
result,  which  need  riot  here  be  detailed.  Prominent 
among  the  statesmen  who  were  inimical  to  the  mea- 
stireg  which  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  com- 
mended and  approved,  was  John  Randolph  of  Vir- 
ginia. The  spirit  which  characterized  his  speeches  at 
this  period,  will  appear  from  the  following  remarkable 
extract  from  one  of  them,  referring  to  Mr.  Adams: 

"Who  made  him  a  judge  of  our  usages?  Who 
constituted  him?  He  has  been  a  professor,  I  under- 
stand. I  wish  he  had  left  off  the  pedagogue  when  lie 
got  into  the  Executive  chair.  Who  made  him  the  censor 
morum  of  this  body  ?  Will  any  one  answer  this  ques- 
tion? Yes  or  no?  Who?  Name  the  person.  Above 
all,  who  made  him  the  searcher  of  hearts,  and  gave 
him  the  right,  by  an  inuendo  black  as  hell,  to  blacken 
our  motives?  Blacken  our  motives!  I  did  not  say 
8* 


90  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

that  then.  I  was  more  under  self-command ;  I  did 
not  use  such  strong  language.  I  said,  if  he  could 
borrow  the  eye  of  Omniscience  himself,  and  look  into 
every  bosom  here ;  if  he  could  look  into  that  most 
awful,  calamitous,  and  tremendous  of  all  possible 
gulfs,  the  naked  unveiled  human  heart,  stripped  of  all 
its  covering  of  self-love,  exposed  naked,  as  to  the  eye 
of  God  —  I  said  if  he  could  do  that,  he  was  not,  as 
President  of  the  United  States,  entitled  to  pass  upon 
our  motives,  although  he  saw  and  knew  them  to  be 
bad.  I  said,  if  he  had  converted  us  to  the  Catholic 
religion,  and  was  our  father  confessor,  and  every  man 
in  this  House  at  the  footstool  of  the  confessional  had 
confessed  a  bad  motive  to  him  by  the  laws  of  his 
church,  as  by  this  Constitution,  above  the  law  and 
above  the  church,  he,  as  President  of  the  United 
States,  could  not  pass  on  our  motives,  though  we  had 
told  him  with  our  own  lips  our  motives,  and  confessed 
they  were  bad.  I  said  this  then,  and  I  say  it  now.  Here 
I  plant  my  foot;  here  I  fling  defiance  right  into  his 
teeth  before  the  American  people;  here  I  throw  the 
%gauntlet  to  him  and  the  bravest  of  his  compeers,  to 
come  forward  and  defend  these  miserable  lines:  'In- 
volving a  departure,  hitherto,  so  far  as  I  am  informed, 
without  example,  from  that  usage,  and  upon  the 
motives  for  which,  not  being  informed  of  them,  I  do 
not  feel  myself  competent  to  decide.'  Amiable  mo- 
desty !  I  wonder  we  did  not,  all  at  once,  fall  in  lova 
with  him,  and  agree  una  voce  to  publish  our  proceed- 
ings, except  myself,  for  I  quitted  the  Senate  ten 
minutes  before  the  vote  was  taken.  I  saw  what  was 
to  follow  ;  I  knew  the  thing  would  not  be  done  at  all, 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  91 

rtr  would  be  done  unanimously.  Therefore,  in  spite 
of  the  remonstrances  of  friends,  I  went  away,  not 
fearing  that  any  one  would  doubt  what  my  vote  would 
have  been,  if  I  had  staid.  After  twenty-six  hours' 
exertion,  it  was  time  to  give  in.  I  was  defeated, 
horse,  foot,  and  dragoons  —  cut  up,  and  clean  broke 
down  by  the  coalition  of  Blifil  and  Black  George  — 
ly  the  combination,  unheard  of  till  then,  of  the  puritan 
with  the  blackleg.'' 

The  last  expression  contained  in  this  speech,  which 
applied  the  epithet  of  "puritan"  to  Mr.  Adams,  and 
that  of  "blackleg"  to  the  Secretary  of  State, — thereby 
alluding  to  the  prevalent  report  that  Mr.  Clay  was 
addicted  to  the  gaming-table, — led  to  the  memorable 
duel  which  took  place  between  him  and  the  repre- 
sentative from  Roanoke.  These  two  celebrated  men 
had  been  born  within  a  few  miles  of  each  other — 
Mr.  Clay  on  the  low  marshes  of  Hanover,  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph on  the  high  bluffs  of  the  Appomattox.  Their 
characters  were  as  different  as  their  positions  and 
careers  in  life;  the  one  genial,  eloquent,  graceful;  the 
other,  sarcastic,  repulsive,  and  hated  by  all,  save  his 
few  personal  friends,  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
Each  was  the  acknowledged  champion  of  a  great 
party,  which  fact  gave  greater  significance  and  im- 
portance to  their  conduct.  After  the  utterance  of  the 
insult  contained  in  his  last  speech,  Mr.  Clay  demanded 
an  apology  from  his  antagonist,  which  was  refused. 
Mr.  Clay  then  placed  a  challenge  in  the  hands  of  his 
friend,  General  Jessup,  to  be  conveyed  to  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph. The  General  and  Colonel  Tattnall,  the  friend 
of  Mr.  Randolph,  agreed  to  suspend  the  delivery  of 


92  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

the  hostile  message,  with  the  hope  that  some  expla- 
nation or  accommodation  might  be  effected  between 
the  parties.  Jessup  stated  that  the  injury  of  which  Mr. 
Clay  complained  was  two-fold  ;  that  he  had  charged 
him  with  having  forged  or  manufactured  a  paper  cor.- 
nected  with  the  Panama  Mission,  and  that  he  had 
applied  to  him  the  opprobrious  epithet  of  "blackleg." 
Jessup  demanded  that  Mr.  Randolph  should  declare 
that  he  had  no  intention  of  charging  Mr.  Clay  with 
falsifying  any  paper  or  mis-stating  any  fact  whatever; 
and  that  the  word  "  blackleg,"  as  used  by  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph, was  intended  to  apply  to  some  other  individual. 

Mr.  Tattnall  communicated  this  demand  to  Mr. 
Randolph.  His  reply  was  as  follows,  and  at  once  put 
an  end  to  all  prospect  of  accommodation  : 

"I  have  gone  as  far  as  I  could  in  waiving  my  pri- 
vilege to  accept  a  peremptory  challenge  from  a  minis- 
ter of  the  Executive  Government,  under  any  circum- 
stances, and  especially  under  such  circumstances.  The 
words  used  by  me  were,  that  I  thought  it  would  be 
in  my  power  to  show  evidence,  sufficiently  presump- 
tive to  satisfy  a  Charlotte  jur}r,  that  this  invitation 
was  "manufactured"  here — that  Salagar's  letter  struck 
me  as  being  a  strong  likeness  in  point  of  style,  &c., 
to  the  other  papers.  I  did  not  undertake  to  prove 
this,  but  expressed  my  suspicion  that  the  fact  was  so. 
I  applied  to  the  Administration  the  epithet,  "puri- 
tanic, diplomatic,  blacklegged  Administration. 

"I  have  no  explanations  to  give  —  I  will  not  give 
any — I  am  called  to  the  field — I  have  agreed  to  go 
and  am  ready  to  go." 

The  seconds  proceeded  to  make  the  necessary  pre« 


OFHENRYCLAY.  93 

parations.  During  the  night  preceding  the  duel,  Mr. 
Randolph  was  found  by  his  friend  James  Hamilton, 
in  a  «;alm  and  kindly  humor.  He  communicated  to 
General  Hamilton  the  determination  which  he  had 
adopted,  not  to  return  Mr.  Clay's  fire:  "Nothing 
shall  induce  me  to  harm  a  hair  of  his  head.  I  will 
not  make  his  wife  a  widow,  and  his  children  orphans. 
Their  tears  would  be  shed  over  his  grave ;  but  when 
the  sod  of  Virginia  rests  on  my  bosom,  there  is  not  in 
this  wide  world  one  individual  to  pay  this  tribute  upon 
mine."  Tears  then  began  to  flow  from  those  basilisk 
eyes,  so  long  unused  to  the  melting  mood.  Hamilton 
replied  that  such  a  resolution  was  extraordinary,  and 
that  it  amounted  in  substance  to  a  determination  on 
his  part  to  go  to  the  field  with  an  intention  to  throw 
his  life  away.  No  appeals,  however,  could  induce 
him  then  to  alter  his  purpose ;  but  at  a  subsequent 
hour  of  the  night,  when  Gen.  Hamilton  called  upon 
him  again,  in  company  with  Col.  Tattnall,  they  found 
him  reading  Milton's  Paradise  Lost;  upon  the  beau- 
ties of  winch  he  dwelt  with  his  usual  discrimination 
and  sagacity.  At  length  he  adverted  to  his  intention 
not  to  return  Mr.  Clay's  fire.  His  friends  once  more 
expostulated  with  him  upon  such  a  purpose  of  F elf- 
sacrifice;  arid  at  length  he  modified  his  design  by 
saying:  "Well,  I  promise  you  one  thing;  if  I  see  the 
devil  in  Clay's  eye,  and  that  with  malice  prepense  he 
means  to  take  my  life,  I  will  change  my  mind." 

During  the  interval  which  preceded  the  duel,  Mr. 
Clay  adjusted  his  private  affairs,  but  carefully  kept 
the  approaching  interview  concealed  from  his  family. 
The  combatants  met  the  next  day  at  four  o'clock,  OD 


94  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  The  sun  was  just  declining 
in  mellowed  beauty  behind  the  blue  hills  of  Virginia, 
when  these  two  men,  among  the  most  remarkable  and 
gifted  of  her  children,  met  apparently  in  mortal  con- 
ilict.  Both  seemed  to  be  calm  and  self-possessed,  in 
the  near  view  of  possible  death  which  they  both  en- 
tertained. Randolph  again  repeated  to  Gen.  Hamil- 
ton his  determination  not  to  return  Mr.  Clay's  fire, 
lie  well  knew  that  he  was  one  of  the  best  shots  of 
the  day,  and  that  Clay's  life  was  in  his  hands.  When 
taking  their  respective  positions,  and  in  handling  the 
weapon  assigned  him,  Mr.  Randolph  accidentally 
sprang  the  trigger,  with  the  muzzle  of  the  pistol 
down.  General  Jessup  instantly  exclaimed,  that  if 
that  incident  occurred  again  he  would  instantly  leave 
the  ground.  Mr.  Clay  replied  that  it  was  doubtless 
an  accident,  and  begged  that  the  gentlemen  would 
proceed.  The  positions  were  again  taken,  the  word 
was  given,  Mr.  Clay  fired,  missing  his  adversary,  and 
Mr.  Randolph  then  discharged  his  pistol  in  the  air. 
As  soon  as  Mr.  Clay  perceived  this  act  of  Randolph, 
he  instantly  approached  the  latter,  and  exclaimed:  "I 
trust  in  God,  my  dear  sir,  that  you  are  unhurt;  after 
what  has  occurred,  I  would  not  have  harmed  you  for 
a  thousand  worlds."  Thus  ended  this  famous  duel ; 
presenting  on  both  sides,  and  in  the  conduct  of  each 
of  these  remarkable  men,  that  combination  of  ab- 
surdity and  contradiction  of  principle  and  action, 
in  which  the  so-called  code  of  honor  inevitably  in- 
volves even  the  most  gifted  and  eminent  of  those  who 
practise  its  usages,  and  defer  to  its  authority. 

The  last  interview  which  ever  took  placo  between 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  95 

Messrs.  Clay  and  Randolph  occurred  in  March,  1833, 
a  short  time  before  the  death  of  the  latter.  He  was 
then  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  afterward 
expired.  The  Senate  was  holding  a  night  session, 
and  Mr.  Clay  was  speaking  when  Randolph  was  car- 
ried into  the  Senate  Chamber,  and  placed  in  a  chair. 
"Hold  me  up,"  said  he  to  his  attendants:  "7  have 
come  to  hear  that  voice."  When  Mr.  Clay  concluded 
his  remarks,  ho  approached  Mr.  Randolph,  and  they 
cordially  saluted  each  other.  Such  was  the  termina- 
tion of  an  acquaintance  which  had  continued  during 
the  quarter  of  a  century,  and  which  had  been  to  each 
party  the  source  of  the  utmost  bitterness,  anxiety, 
and  malignity,  during  the  greater  portion  of  its  du- 
ration. 

In  the  autumn  of  1828  the  general  election  took 
place,  which  resulted  in  the  elevation  of  Andrew 
Jackson  to  the  Presidency.  John  C.  Calhoun  was 
chosen  Vice-President.  With  the  conclusion  of  the 
administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  Mr.  Clay's 
official  duties  terminated.  The  triumph  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  the  person  of  the  Hero  of  Kew  Orleans, 
and  his  immense  popularity  with  the  nation,  tended 
to  increase  the  odium  which  had  already  been  accu- 
mulated on  the  head  of  Mr.  Clay,  as  his  ablest  oppo- 
nent, in  consequence  of  the  charges  of  corruption 
which  had  previously  been  urged  against  him.  The 
latter  at  once  prepared  to  remove  his  family  to  Ken- 
tucky. Previous  to  his  departure  from  Washington, 
a  number  of  his  friends  invited  him  to  a  public 
dinner;  on  which  occasion  he  delivered  a  speech  in 
which  he  vindicated  himself  from  the  slanders  and 


96  THELIFEANDTIMES 

charges  of  his  enemies,  and  stated  his  opinions  of 
public  affairs.     Said  he : 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  feel  that  I  could  with  any  pro- 
priety abstain  from  any  allusion,  at  this  time  and  at  this 
place,  to  public  affairs.  But  considering  the  occasion 
which  has  brought  us  together,  the  events  which  have 
preceded  it,  and  the  influence  which  they  may  exert 
upon  the  destinies  of  our  country,  my  silence  might 
be  misinterpreted,  and  I  think  it  therefore  proper  that 
I  should  embrace  this  first  public  opportunity  which  I 
have  bad  of  saying  a  few  words,  since  the  termination 
of  the  late  memorable  and  embittered  contest.  It  is 
far  from  my  wish  to  continue  or  to  revive  the  agita- 
tion with  which  that  contest  was  attended.  It  is  ended, 
for  good  or  for  evil.  The  nation  wants  repose.  A  ma- 
jority of  the  people  has  decided,  and  from  their  deci- 
sion there  can  and  ought  to  be  no  appeal.  Bowing, 
as  I  do,  with  profound  respect  to  them,  and  to  this  exer- 
cise of  their  sovereign  authority,  I  may  nevertheless 
be  allowed  to  retain  and  to  express  my  own  unchanged 
sentiments,  even  if  they  should  not  be  in  perfect  co- 
incidence with  theirs.  It  is  a  source  of  high  gratifi- 
cation to  me  to  believe  that  I  share  these  sentiments 
in  common,  with  more  than  half-a-million  of  freemen, 
possessing  a  degree  of  virtue,  of  intelligence,  of  reli- 
gion, and  of  genuine  patriotism,  which,  without  dis- 
paragement to  others,  is  unsurpassed,  in  the  same 
number  of  men  in  this  or  any  other  country,  in  this 
or  any  other  age. 

u  I  deprecated  the  election  of  the  present  President 
of  the  United  States,  because  I  believed  he  had  nei- 
ther the  temper,  the  experience,  nor  the  attainments 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  97 

requisite  to  discharge  the  complicated  and  arduous 
duties  of  chief  magistrate.  I  deprecated  it  still  more, 
because  his  elevation,  I  believe,  would  be  the  result 
exclusively  of  admiration  and  gratitude  for  military 
service,  without  regard  to  indispensable  civil  qualifi- 
cations. I  can  neither  retract,  nor  alter,  nor  modify 
any  opinion  which,  on  these  subjects,  I  have  at  any 
time  heretofore  expressed.  I  thought  I  beheld  in  his 
election  an  awful  foreboding  of  the  fate  which,  at 
some  future  (I  pray  to  God  that,  if  it  ever  arrive,  it 
may  be  some  far  distant)  day  was  to  befall  this  infant 
republic.  All  past  history  has  impressed  on  my  mind 
this  solemn  apprehension.  Nor  is  it  effaced  or  weak- 
ened by  contemporaneous  events  passing  upon  our 
own  favored  continent.  It  is  remarkable  that,  at 
this  epoch,  at  the  head  of  eight  of  the  nine  inde- 
pendent governments  established  in  both  Americas, 
military  officers  have  been  placed,  or  have  placed 
themselves.  General  Lavalle  has,  by  military  force, 
subverted  the  republic  of  La  Plata.  General  Santa 
Cruz  is  the  chief  magistrate  of  Bolivia;  Colonel 
Pinto  of  Chili;  General  Lamar  of  Peru,  and  General 
Bolivar  of  Colombia.  Central  America,  rent  in 
pieces,  and  bleeding  at  every  pore  from  wounds  in- 
flicted by  contending  military  factions,  is  under  the 
alternate  sway  of  their  chiefs.  In  the  government  of 
our  nearest  neighbor,  an  election,  conducted  accord - 
ing'to  all  the  requirements  of  their  Constitution,  has 
terminated  with  a  majority  of  the  States  in  favor  of 
Pedrazza,  the  civil  candidate.  An  insurrection  was 
raised  in  behalf  of  his  military  rival;  the  cry,  not 
exactly  of  a  bargain,  but  of  corruption,  was  sounded ; 
9  o 


98  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

the  election  was  annulled,  and  a  reform  effected  by 
proclaiming  General  Guerrero,  having  only  a  minority 
of  the  States,  duly  elected  President.  The  thunders 
from  the  surrounding  forts,  and  the  acclamations  of 
the  assembled  multitude,  on  the  fourth,  told  us  what 
General  was  at  the  head  of  our  affairs.  It  is  true, 
and  in  this  respect  we  are  happier  than  some  of  the 
American  States,  that  his  election  has  not  been 
brought  about  by  military  violence.  The  forms  of 
the  Constitution  have  yet  remained  inviolate.  In  re- 
asserting the  opinions  which  I  hold,  nothing  is  fur- 
ther from  my  purpose  than  to  treat  with  the  slightest 
disrespect  those  of  my  fellow-citizens,  here  or  else- 
where, who  may  entertain  opposite  sentiments.  The 
fact  of  claiming  and  exercising  the  free  and  inde- 
pendent expression  of  the  dictates  of  my  own  delibe- 
rate judgment,  affords  the  strongest  guarantee  of  my 
full  recognition  of  their  corresponding  privilege.  A 
majority  of  my  fellow-citizens,  it  would  seem,  do  not 
perceive  the  dangers  which  I  apprehended  from  the 
example.  Believing  that  they  are  not  real,  or  that 
we  have  some  security  against  their  effect,  which 
ancient  and  modern  republics  have  not  found,  that 
majority,  in  the  exercise  of  their  incontestable  right 
of  suffrage,  have  chosen  for  chief  magistrate  a  citizen 
who  brings  into  that  high  trust  no  qualification  other 
than  military  triumph." 

This  was  the  darkest  period  of  Mr.  Clay's  career — 
the  crisis  when  the  malignity  of  his  triumphant  ene- 
mies flooded  the  country  with  calumnies  of  every  de- 
scription against  him,  and  endeavored  to  crush  him 
beneath  the  weight  of  their  detractions.  Neyerthe- 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  99 

less,  his  former  constituents  in  Kentucky  continued 
to  regard  him  with  the  same  admiration  and  par- 
tiality. He  remained  in  retirement  nearly  three 
years,  engaged  in  the  duties  of  his  profession.  He 
duly  appreciated  the  firmness  with  which  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Kentucky  adhered  to  him  through  evil  as 
well  as  through  good  report,  and  thus  expressed  him- 
self on  the  subject  on  a  public  occasion : 

"  When  I  felt  as  if  I  should  sink  beneath  the  storm 
of  abuse  and  detraction  which  was  violently  raging 
around  me,  I  have  found  myself  upheld  and  sus- 
tained by  your  encouraging  voice  and  your  approving 
smiles.  I  have,  doubtless,  committed  many  faults 
and  indiscretions,  over  which  you  have  thrown  the 
broad  mantle  of  your  charity.  But  I  can  say,  and 
in  the  presence  of  my  God  and  of  this  assembled 
multitude  I  will  say,  that  I  have  honestly  and  faith- 
|6lly  served  my  country;  that  I  have  never  wronged 
it ;  and  that,  however  unprepared  I  lament  that  I  am, 
to  appear  in  the  Divine  Presence  on  other  accounts, 
I  invoke  the  stern  justice  of  His  judgment  on  my 
public  conduct,  without  the  smallest  apprehension  of 
His  displeasure." 

During  the  period  of  his  retirement  Mr.  Clay 
visited  New  Orleans,  Columbus,  Cincinnati,  and 
other  places  in  the  South  and  "West,  where  his  friends 
complimented  him  with  public  receptions.  At  length, 
in  the  autumn  of  1831,  he  was  recalled  to  public  life 
by  being  again  chosen  by  the  Legislature  of  Ken- 
tucky, to  represent  that  Commonwealth  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States.  He  accordingly  resumed  his 
seat  in  that  body,  at  the  opening  of  the  first  session 


100  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

of  the  Twenty-second  Congress.  It  was  about  tho 
same  period  that  he  was  nominated  for  the  Presi- 
dency by  the  National  Republican  Convention, 
which  convened  at  Baltimore  in  December,  1831. 
John  Sergeant  of  Pennsylvania  was  proposed  by 
that  assembly  for  the  office  of  Vice-president.  The 
result  of  the  conflict  which  ensued  was  the  election 
of  General  Jackson  to  a  second  term  of  the  chief 
magistracy. 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  101 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

TOl  TARIFF  OF  1832  —  MR.  CLAY'S  BILL  —  HIS  ARGUMENT  IN  DEFEXCI 
OF  IT  —  DISCONTENT  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA  —  THE  PROCLAMATION  OF 
PRESIDENT  JACKSON — COUNTER  PROCLAMATION  OF  GOVERNOR  HAYNE 
— MR.  CLAY'S  COMPROMISE  BILL  —  HIS  ARGUMENT  IN  SUPPORT  OF  IT 
—  MR.  WEBSTER'S  OPPOSITION — ITS  FINAL  PASSAGE — PEACE  OF  THE 
UNION  PRESERVED  —  MR.  CLAY'S  JOURNEY  THROUGH  THE  NORTHERN 

AND  EASTERN  STATES  —  EXHIBITIONS  OF  POPULAR  ENTHUSIASM 

HIS  RETURN.TO  WASHINGTON. 

THE  subject  of  the  Tariff  was  the  most  important 
•which  engaged  the  attention  of  Congress  in  the  ses- 
sion of  1831-32.  South  Carolina  had  already  at  that 
period  commenced  to  exhibit  a  spirit  of  discontent, 
and  of  insubordination  to  the  revenue  laws  of  the 
United  States,  which  afterward  culminated  in  the 
most  serious  results.  For  the  purpose  of  producing 
harmony,  Mr.  Clay  introduced  a  resolution  in  the 
Senate  on  the  9th  of  January,  1832,  providing  for 
the  abolition  of  the  existing  duties  upon  articles  im- 
ported from  foreign  countries,  not  coming  into  com- 
petition with  similar  articles  made  or  produced  in  the 
United  States,  except  the  duties  on  wines  and  silks, 
and  that  these  ought  to  be  reduced ;  and  also  that 
the  Committee  on  Finance  be  instructed  to  report  ac- 
cordingly. He  supported  this  resolution  by  an  able 
speech,  to  which  Mr.  Hayne  of  South  Carolina  re- 
9* 


102  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

sponded.  The  subject  underwent  a  protracted  debate, 
and  was  still  before  the  Senate  on  the  second  of  Feb- 
ruary, when  Mr.  Clay  commenced  the  delivery  of 
his  famous  oration  in  defence  of  the  American  system, 
and  in  opposition  to  the  British  colonial  system.  The 
delivery  of  this  speech  occupied  that  day,  the  whole 
of  the  next,  and  was  at  length  concluded  on  the  sixth 
of  that  mqnth.  It  was  one  of  his  master-pieces; 
and  on  no  other  occasion  did  his  remarkable  abilities 
shine  forth  with  greater  lustre,  or  more  astounding 
effect.  As  an  illustration  of  the  method  with  which 
Mr.  Clay  treated  the  dry  details  of  an  argument  on 
commercial  affairs,  we  may  adduce  the  following 
extracts  from  this  oration  : 

"  Such  are  some  of  the  items  of  this  vast  system 
of  protection  which  it  is  now  proposed  to  abandon. 
We  might  well  pause  and  contemplate,  if  human 
imagination  could  conceive  the  extent  of  mischief  and 
ruin  from  its  total  overthrow,  before  we  proceed  to 
the  work  of  destruction.  Its  duration  is  worthy  also 
of  serious  consideration.  Not  to  go  behind  the  Con- 
stitution, its  date  is  coeval  with  that  instrument.  It 
began  on  the  ever-memorable  fourth  day  of  July — 
the  fourth  day  of  July,  1789.  The  second. act  which 
stands  recorded  in  the  statute-book,  bearing  the  illus- 
trious signature  of  George  Washington,  laid  the  cor- 
ner-stone of  the  whole  system.  That  there  might  be 
no  mistake  about  the  matter,  it  was  then  solemnly 
proclaimed  to  the  American  people  and  to  the  world, 
that  it  was  necessary  for  'the  encouragement  and  pro- 
tection of  manufactures,'  that  duties  should  be  laid. 
It  is  iu  vain  to  urge  the  small  amount  of  the  measure 


OP    HENRY    CLAT.  103 

of  the  protection  then  extended.  The  great  principle 
was  then  established  by  the  fathers  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, with  the  father  of  his  country  at  their  head. 
And  it  cannot  now  be  questioned,  that,  if  the  govern- 
ment had  not  then  been  new  and  the  subject  untried, 
a  greater  measure  of  protection  would  have  been 
applied,  if  it  had  been  supposed  necessary.  Shortly 
after,  the  master-minds  of  Jefferson  and  Hamilton 
were  brought  to  act  on  this  interesting  subject.  Tak- 
ing views  of  it  appertaining  to  the  departments  of 
Foreign  Affairs  and  of  the  Treasury,  which  they  re- 
spectively filled,  they  presented,  severally,  reports 
which  yet  remain  monuments  of  their  profound  wis- 
dom, and  came  to  the  same  conclusion  of  protection, 
to  American  industry.  Mr.  Jefferson  argued  that 
foreign  restrictions,  foreign  prohibitions,  and  foreign 
high  duties,  ought  to  be  met  at  home  by  American 
restrictions,  American  prohibitions,  and  American 
high  duties.  Mr.  Hamilton,  surveying  the  entire 
ground,  and  looking  at  the  inherent  nature  of  the 
subject,  treated  it  with  an  ability  which,  if  ever 
equalled,  has  not  been  surpassed,  and  earnestly  recom- 
mended protection. 

"If  we  purchased  still  less  from  Great  Britain  than 
we  do,  and  our  conditions  were  reversed,  so  that  the 
value  of  her  imports  from  this  country  exceeded  that 
of  her  exports  to  it,  she  would  only  then  be  compelled 
to  do  what  we  have  so  long  done,  and  what  South 
Carolina  does,  in  her  trade  with  Kentucky,  make  up 
for  the  unfavorable  balance  by  trade  with  other  places 
and  countries.  How  does  she  now  dispose  of  the  one 
hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  cotton 


104  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

fabrics  which  she  annually  sells?  Of  that  amount 
the  United  States  do  not  purchase  five  per  centum. 
What  becomes  of  the  other  ninety-five  per  centum? 
Is  it  not  sold  to  other  powers,  and  would  not  their 
markets  remain,  if  ours  were  totally  shut?  Would 
she  not  continue,  as  she  now  finds  it  her  interest,  to 
purchase  the  raw  material  from  us,  to  supply  those 
markets?  Would  she  be  guilty  of  the  folly  of  de- 
priving herself  of  markets  to  the  amount  of  upward 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars,  because 
we  refused  her  a  market  for  some  eight  or  ten  mil- 
lions? 

"But  if  there  were  a  diminution  of  the  British 
demand  for  cotton  equal  to  the  loss  of  a  market  for 
the  few  British  fabrics  which  are  within  the  scope  of 
our  protective  policy,  the  question  would  still  remain, 
whether  the  cotton-planter  is  not  amply  indemnified 
by  the  creation  of  additional  demand  elsewhere? 
With  respect  to  the  cotton-grower,  it  is  the  totality  of 
the  demand,  and  not  its  distribution,  which  affects  hia 
interests.  If  any  system  of  policy  will  augment  the 
aggregate  of  the  demand,  that  system  is  favorable  to 
his  interests,  although  its  tendency  may  be  to  vary 
the  theatre  of  the  demand.  It  could  not,  for  exam- 
ple, be  injurious  to  him,  if,  instead  of  Great  Britain 
continuing  to  receive  the  entire  quantity  of  cotton 
which  she  now  does,  two  or  three  hundred  thousand 
bales  of  it  were  taken  to  the  other  side  of  the  chan- 
nel, and  increased  to  that  extent  the  French  demand. 
It  would  be  better  for  him,  because  it  is  always  better 
to  have  several  markets  than  one.  Now  if,  instead 
of  a  transfer  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  channel,  of 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  105 

those  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  bales,  they  are 
transported  to  the  Northern  States,  can  that  be  inju- 
rious to  the  cotton-grower?  Is  it  not  better  for  him ? 
Is  it  not  better  to  have  a  market  at  home,  unaffected 
by  war,  or  other  foreign  causes,  for  that  amount  of 
his  staple  ? 

"If  the  establishment  of  American  manufactures, 
therefore,  had  the  sole  effect  of  creating  a  new  and 
an  American  demand  for  cotton,  exactly  to  the  same 
extent  in  which  it  lessened  the  British  demand,  there 
would  be  no  just  cause  of  complaint  against  the  tariff. 
The  gain  in  one  place  would  precisely  equal  the  loss 
in  the  other.  But  the  true  state  of  the  matter  is 
much  more  favorable  to  the  cotton-grower.  It  is  cal- 
culated that  the  cotton  manufactories  of  the  United 
States  absorb  at  least  two  hundred  thousand  bales  of 
cotton  annually.  I  believe  it  to  be  more.  The  two 
ports  of  Boston  and  Providence  alone  received  during 
the  last  year  near  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand 
bales.  The  amount  is  annually  increasing.  The  raw 
material  of  that  two  hundred  thousand  bales  is  worth 
Bix  millions,  and  there  is  an  additional  value  conferred 
by  the  manufacturer  of  eighteen  millions;  it  being 
generally  calculated  that,  in  such  cotton  fabrics  as  we 
are  in  the  habit  of  making,  the  manufacture  consti- 
tutes three-fourths  of  the  value  of  the  article.  If, 
therefore,  these  twenty-four  millions'  worth  of  cotton 
fabrics  were  not  made  in  the  United  States,  but  were 
manufactured  in  Great  Britain,  in  order  to  obtain 
them,  we  should  have  to  add  to  the  already  enormous 
disproportion  between  the  amount  of  our  imports  and 
exports,  in  the  trade  with  Great  Britain,  the  further 


106  THELIFEANDTIME8 

sum  of  twenty-four  millions,  or,  deducting  the  price 
of  the  raw  material,  eighteen  millions !  And  will 
gentlemen  tell  me  how  it  would  be  possible  for  this 
country  to  sustain  such  a  ruinous  trade?  From  all 

H 

that  portion  of  the  United  States  lying  north  and 
east  of  James  River,  and  west  of  the  mountains, 
Great  Britain  receives  comparatively  nothing.  How 
would  it  be  possible  for  the  inhabitants  of  that  largest 
portion  of  our  territory,  to  supply  themselves  with 
cotton  fabrics,  if  they  were  brought  from  England 
exclusivel}'?  They  could  not  do  it.  But  for  the  ex- 
istence of  the  American  manufacture,  they  would  be 
compelled  greatly  to  curtail  their  supplies,  if  not  ab- 
solutely to  suffer  in  their  comforts.  By  its  existence 
at  home,  the  circle  of  those  exchanges  is  created, 
which  reciprocally  diffuses  among  all  who  are  em- 
braced within  it  the  productions  of  their  respective 
industry.  The  cotton-grower  sells  the  raw  material 
to  the  manufacturer;  he  buys  the  iron,  the  bread,  the 
meal,  the  coal,  and  the  countless  number  of  objects 
of  his  consumption  from  his  fellow-citizens,  and  they 
in  turn  purchase  his  fabrics.  Putting  it  upon  the 
ground  merely  of  supplying  those  with  necessary 
articles  who  could  not  otherwise  obtain  them,  ought 
there  to  be  from  any  quarter  an  objection  to  the  only 
system  by  which  that  object  can  be  accomplished? 
But  can  there  be  any  doubt,  with  those  who  will  re- 
flect, that  the  actual  amount  of  cotton  consumed  is 
increased  by  the  home  manufacture?  The  main  ar- 
gument of  gentlemen  is  founded  upon  the  idea  of 
mutual  ability  resulting  from  mutual  exchanges. 
They  would  furnish  an  ability  to  foreign  nations  by 


OP    HENRY    CLAT.  107 

purchasing  from  them,  and  I,  to  our  own  people,  by 
exchanges  at  home.  If  the  American  manufacture 
were  discontinued,  and  that  of  England  were  to  take 
its  place,  how  would  she  sell  the  additional  quantity 
of  twenty -four  millions  of  cotton  goods,  which  wo 
now  make?  To  us?  That  has  been  shown  to  be 
impracticable.  To  other  foreign  nations  ?  She  has 
already  pushed  her  supplies  to  them  to  the  utmost 
extent.  The  ultimate  consequence  would  then  be,  to 
diminish  the  total  consumption  of  cotton,  to  say  no- 
thing of  the  reduction  of  price  that  would  take  place 
by  throwing  into  the  ports  of  England  the  two  hun- 
dred thousand  bales  which  would  go  thither." 

On  the  13th  of  March,  1832,  a  bill  was  reported 
according  to  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Clay,  embodying 
his  views,  which  afterward  passed  both  Houses  with 
some  modification  in  July.  The  revenue  was  reduced 
by  its  operation,  but  the  Protective  System  was  pre- 
served. The  law  was  received  with  different  senti- 
ments in  different  portions  of  the  Union.  The  dis- 
content was  greatest  and  fiercest  in  South  Carolina. 
The  tariff  of  1832  was  made  the  subject  of  popular 
opprobrium;  and  a  Convention  was  held  in  that 
State  which  enacted  a  nullifying  ordinance,  and 
became  a  part  of  its  fundamental  law.  This  event 
took  place  on  the  24th  of  November.  The  ordinance 
was  signed  by  James  Hamilton  as  chairman,  and  one 
hundred  and  forty  members,  including  many  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  South  Carolina.  The  Convention 
prepared  and  issued  an  address  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  in  which  the  following  language  occurs: 

*'  Uiider  a  system  of  free  trade,  the  aggregate  crop 


108  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

of  South  Carolina  would  be  exchanged  for  a  larger 
quantity  of  manufactures,  by  at  least  one-third,  than 
it  can  be  exchanged  for  under  the  protecting  system. 
It  is  no  less  evident,  that  the  value  of  the  crop  is  di- 
minished by  the  protecting  system  very  nearly,  if  not 
precisely,  to  the  extent  that  the  aggregate  quantity  of 
manufactures  that  is  obtained  for  it,  is  diminished. 
It  is  indeed  strictly  and  philosophically  true,  that  the 
quantity  of  consumable  commodities  which  can  be 
obtained  for  the  cotton  and  rice,  annually  produced 
by  the  industry  of  the  State,  is  the  precise  measure 
of  their  aggregate  value.  But  for  the  prevalent  and 
habitual  error  of  confounding  the  money  price  with 
the  exchangeable  value  of  our  agricultural  staples, 
these  propositions  would  be  regarded  as  self-evident. 
If  the  protecting  duties  were  repealed,  one  hundred 
bales  of  cotton,  or  one  hundred  barrels  of  rice,  would 
purchase  as  large  a  quantity  of  manufactures  as  one 
hundred  and  fifty  will  now  purchase.  The  annual 
income  of  the  State,  its  means  of  purchasing  and 
consuming  the  necessaries  and  comforts  and  luxuries 
of  life,  would  be  increased  in  a  corresponding  degree. 
Almost  the  entire  crop  of  South  Carolina,  amounting 
annually  to  more  than  six  millions  of  dollars,  is  ulti- 
mately exchanged  either  for  foreign  manufactures 
subject  to  protecting  duties,  or  for  similar  domestic 
manufactures.  The  natural  value  of  that  crop  would 
be  all  the  manufactures  which  we  could  obtain  for  it 
under  a  system  of  unrestricted  commerce.  The  arti- 
ficial value  produced  by  the  unjust  and  unconstitu- 
tional legislation  of  Congress,  is  only  such  part  of 
these  manufactures  as  will  remain  after  paying  a  duty 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  109 

of  fifty  per  cent,  to  the  government ;  or,  to  speak  with 
more  precision,  to  the  Northern  manufacturers.  .  .  . 
The  inevitable  result  is,  that  the  manufactures  thus 
lawfully  acquired  by  the  honest  industry  of  South 
Carolina,  are  worth  annually  three  millions  of  dollars 
less  to  her  citizens,  than  the  very  same  quantity,  of 
the  very  same  description,  of  manufactures  is  worth 
to  the  citizens  of  a  manufacturing  State — a  difference 
of  value  produced  exclusively  by  the  operation  of  the 
protecting  system.  No  ingenuity  can  either  evade  or 
refute  this  proposition.  The  very  axioms  of  geometry 
are  not  more  self-evident We  confidently  ap- 
peal to  our  confederated  States,  and  to  the  whole 
world,  to  decide  whether  the  annals  of  human  legis- 
lation furnish  a  parallel  instance  of  injustice  and  op- 
pression perpetrated  in  the  form  of  free  government. 
However  it  may  be  disguised  by  the  complexity  of 
the  process  by  which  it  is  effected,  it  is  nothing  less 
than  the  monstrous  outrage  of  taking  three  millions 
of  dollars  annually  from  the  value  of  the  productions 
of  South  Carolina,  and  transferring  it  to  the  people 
of  other  and  distant  communities." 

Irritated  by  these  exhibitions  of  hostility  to  a  law 
which  he  had  approved,  General  Jackson  issued  his 
proclamation  on  the  10th  of  December,  1832,  de- 
nouncing the  proceedings  which  had  taken  place  in 
South  Carolina  as  treasonable,  and  insisting  that  they 
should  be  immediately  abandoned.  Ten  days  after- 
ward Governor  Hayne  issued  a  counter  proclamation, 
urging  all  patriotic  citizens  of  the  State  to  obey  tho 
ordinance  of  nullification.  When  the  second  session 
of  the  twenty-second  Congress  opened,  the  presence 
10 


110  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

and  influence  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  had  resigned  the 
Vice-Presidency,  and  accepted  a  seat  in  the  Senate, 
and  whom  General  Jackson  had  at  one  time  threat- 
ened to  arrest  on  his  arrival  at  Washington, — became 
invested  with  immense  importance,  as  the  leader  and 
originator  of  the  project  of  nullification,  and  as  the 
great  representative,  pro  hoc  vice,  of  State  rights,  in 
opposition  to  those  of  Federal  law  and  government. 

A  collision  of  the  most  dangerous  and  desperate 
character  between  the  President  and  the  State  of 
South  Carolina,  seemed  inevitable;  but  just  in  the 
most  critical  moment,  Mr.  Clay  came  forward  in  the 
Senate  with  his  celebrated  "Compromise  Bill,"  which 
provided  for  a  gradual  reduction  of  duties  till  the 
year  1842,  when  twenty  per  cent,  at  a  home  valuation, 
should  become  the  rate,  until  some  other  proportion 
should  be  established  by  the  authority  of  law.  This 
Compromise  Bill  was  the  product  of  much  study  and 
reflection  on  the  part  of  its  author.  When  passing 
through  Philadelphia,  previous  to  the  opening  of  the 
session,  Mr.  Clay  had  held  conferences  with  the  lead- 
ing manufacturers  of  that  city, — then,  as  now,  the 
centre  of  the  manufacturing  enterprise  and  resources 
of  the  Union, — to  ascertain  the  opinions  which  they 
had  derived  from  their  practical  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience of  the  subject.  On  arriving  at  Washington, 
he  conferred  with  Mr.  Calhoun  upon  the  existing 
difficulties,  and  compared  views  with  him  in  refer- 
ence to  the  necessary  and  practicable  changes  in  the 
tariff.  His  rare  powers  of  persuasion  and  concilia- 
tion were  used  to  the  utmost,  in  producing  a  spirit 
of  harmony  among  Southern  Representatives,  who 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  11} 

had  been  most  disposed  to  refractory  measures.  He 
prevailed  so  far,  that  at  last  they  generally  expressed 
the  feeling,  that  they  much  preferred  that  the  diffi- 
culty should  be  settled  by  Mr.  Clay,  than  by  the 
arbitrary  measures  threatened  by  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment. 

The  Compromise  Act  was  discussed  with  much 
zeal  and  ability  in  both  Houses  of  Congress.  Its 
chief  opponent  was  Daniel  Webster,  who  threw  into 
the  scale  against  it  the  ponderous  weight  of  his  talents 
and  influence.  Mr.  Clay  met  the  arguments  which 
he  advanced  with  great  boldness  and  skill.  He  thus 
replied  to  the  chief  considerations  advanced  by  the 
Colossus  of  the  North  against  the  bill: 

"The  Senator  from  Massachusetts  objects  to  the 
bill  under  consideration,  on  various  grounds.  He 
argues,  that  it  imposes  unjustifiable  restraints  on  the 
power  of  future  legislation  ;  that  it  abandons  the  pro- 
tective policy;  and  that  the  details  of  the  bill  are 
practically  defective.  He  does  not  object  to  the  gra- 
dual, but  very  inconsiderable,  reduction  of  duties 
which  is  made  prior  to  1842.  To  that  he  could  not 
object,  because  it  is  a  species  of  prospective  provision, 
as  he  admits,  in  conformity  with  numerous  prece- 
dents on  our  statute-book.  He  does  not  object  so 
much  to  the  state  of  the  proposed  law  prior  to  1842, 
during  a  period  of  nine  years ;  but,  throwing  himself 
forward  to  the  termination  of  that  period,  he  contends 
that  Congress  will  then  find  itself  under  inconvenient 
shackles,  imposed  by  our  indiscretion.  In  the  first 
place,  I  would  remark,  that  the  bill  contains  no  obli- 
gatory pledges  —  it  could  make  noue  —  none  are  at- 


112  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

tempted.  The  power  over  the  subject  is  in  the  Con- 
stitution,  put  there  by  those  who  formed  it,  and  liable 
to  be  taken  out  only  by  an  amendment  of  the  instru- 
ment. The  next  Congress,  and  every  succeeding 
Congress,  will  undoubtedly  have  the  power  to  repeal 
the  law  whenever  they  may  think  proper.  Whether 
they  will  exercise  it,  or  not,  will  depend  upon  a  sound 
discretion,  applied  to  the  state  of  the  whole  country, 
and  estimating  fairly  the  consequences  of  the  repeal, 
both  upon  the  general  harmony  and  the  common  in- 
terests. Then  the  bill  is  founded  in  a  spirit  of  com- 
promise. Now,  in  all  compromises  there  must  be 
mutual  concessions.  The  friends  of  free-trade  insist, 
that  duties  should  be  laid  in  reference  to  revenue 
alone.  The  friends  of  American  industry  say,  that 
another,  if  not  paramount  object  in  laying  them, 
should  be,  to  diminish  the  consumption  of  foreign, 
and  increase  that  of  domestic  products.  On  this  point 
the  parties  divide,  and  between  these  two  opposite 
opinions  a  reconciliation  is  to  be  effected,  if  it  can  be 
accomplished.  The  bill  assumes  as  a  basis  adequate 
protection  for  nine  years,  and  less  beyond  that  term. 
The  friends  of  protection  say  to  their  opponents,  wo 
are  willing  to  take  a  lease  of  nine  years,  with  the 
long  chapter  of  accidents  beyond  that  period,  includ- 
ing the  chance  of  war,  the  restoration  of  concord,  and 
along  with  it  a  conviction  common  to  all,  of  the  utility 
of  protection ;  and  in  consideration  of  it,  if,  in  1842, 
none  of  these  contingencies  shall  have  been  realized, 
we  are  willing  to  submit,  as  long  as  Congress  may 
think  proper,  to  a  maximum  rate  of  twenty  per 
centum,  with  the  power  of  discrimination  below  it, 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  113 

cash  duties,  home  valuations,  and  a  liberal  list  of  free 
articles,  for  the  benefit  of  the  manufacturing  interest. 
To  these  conditions  the  opponents  of  protection  are 
ready  to  accede.     The  measure  is  what  it  professes  to 
be,  a  compromise ;  but  it  imposes,  and  could  impose, 
no  restriction  upon  the  will  or  power  of  a  future  Con- 
gress.    Doubtless  great  respect  will   be  paid,  as  it 
ought  to  be  paid,  to  the   serious  condition  of  the 
country  that  has  prompted  the  passage  of  this  bill. 
Any  future  Congress  that  might  disturb  this  adjust- 
ment, would  act  under  a  high  responsibility ;  but  it 
would  be  entirely  within  its  competency  to  repeal,  if 
it  thought  proper,  the  whole  bill.     It  is  far  from  the 
object  of  those  who  support  this  bill,  to  abandon  or 
surrender  the  policy  of  protecting  American  industry. 
Its  protection  or  encouragement  may  be  accomplished 
in  various  ways  —  first,  by  bounties,  as  far  as  they 
are  within  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress  to 
otter  them  ;  second,  by  prohibitions,  totally  excluding 
the  foreign  rival  article;  third,  by  high  duties,  with- 
out regard  to  the  aggregate  amount  of  revenue  which 
they  produce;  fourth,  by  discriminating  duties,  so 
adjusted  as  to  limit  the  revenue  to  the  economical 
wants  of  government;  and,  fifth,  by  the  admission  of 
the  raw  material,  and  articles  essential  to  manufac- 
tures, free  of  duty;  to  which  may  be  added,  cash  du- 
ties, home  valuations,  and  the  regulation  of  auctions. 
A  perfect  system  of  protection  would  comprehend 
most,  if  not  all  these  modes  of  affording  it.     There 

*  o 

might  be,  at  this  time,  a  prohibition  of  certain  arti- 
cles (ardent  spirits  and  coarse  cottons,  for  example) 
to  public  advantage.     If  there  were  not  inveterate 
10*  H 


114  THK    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

prejudices  and  conflicting  opinions  prevailing  (and 
what  statesman  can  totally  disregard  impediments  ?), 
such  a  compound  system  might  be  established. 

"Now,  Mr.  President,  before  the  assertion  is  made, 
that  the  bill  surrenders  the  protective  policy,  gentle- 
men should  understand  perfectly  what  it  does  not,  as 
well  as  what  it  does  propose.  It  impairs  no  power 
of  Congress  over  the  whole  subject;  it  contains  no 
promise  or  pledge  whatever,  express  or  implied,  as  to 
bounties,  prohibitions,  or  auctions;  it  does  not  touch 
the  power  of  Congress  in  regard  to  them,  and  Con- 
gress is  perfectly  free  to  exercise  that  power  at  any 
time;  it  expressly  recognizes  discriminating  duties 
within  a  prescribed  limit;  it  provides  for  cash  duties 
and  home  valuations  ;  and  it  secures  a  free  list,  em- 
bracing numerous  articles,  some  of  high  importance 
to  the  manufacturing  arts.  Of  all  the  modes  of  pro- 
tection which  I  have  enumerated,  it  aftects  only  the 
third;  that  is  to  say,  the  imposition  of  high  duties, 
producing  a  revenue  beyond  the  wants  of  government. 
The  Senator  from  Massachusetts  contends  that  the 
policy  of  protection  was  settled  in  1816,  and  that  it 
has  ever  since  been  maintained.  Sir,  it  was  settled 
long  before  1816.  It  is  coeval  with  the  present  Con- 
stitution, and  it  will  continue,  under  some  of  its  va- 
rious aspects,  during  the  existence  of  the  government. 
No  nation  can  exist,  no  nation  perhaps  ever  existed, 
without  protection  in  some  form,  and  to  some  extent, 
being  applied  to  its  own  industry.  The  direct  and 
necessary  consequence  of  abandoning  the  protection 
of  its  own  industry,  would  be  to  subject  it  to  the 
restrictions  and  prohibitions  of  foreign  Powers ;  and 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  115 

no  nation,  for  any  length  of  time,  can  endure  an  alien 
legislation,  in  which  it  has  no  will.  The  discontents 
which  prevail,  and  the  safety  of  the  Republic,  may 
require  the  modification  of  a  specific  mode  of  protec- 
tion, but  it  must  be  preserved  in  some  other  more 
acceptable  shape. 

"All  that  was  settled  in  1816,  in  1824,  and  in  1828, 
was,  that  protection  should  be  afforded  by  high  du- 
ties, without  regard  to  the  amount  of  the  revenue  which 
they  might  yield.  During  that  whole  period,  we  had 
a  public  debt  which  absorbed  all  the  surpluses  be- 
yond the  ordinary  wants  of  government.  Between 
1816  and  1824,  the  revenue  was  liable  to  the  greatest 
fluctuations,  vibrating  between  the  extremes  of  about 
nineteen  and  thirty-six  millions  of  dollars.  If  there 
were  more  revenue,  more  debt  was  paid ;  if  less,  a 
smaller  amount  was  reimbursed.  Such  was  some- 
times the  deficiency  of  the  revenue,  that  it  became 
necessary  to  the  ordinary  expenses  of  government, 
to  trench  upon  the  ten  millions  annually  set  apart  as 
a  sinking  fund,  to  extinguish  the  public  debt.  If 
the  public  debt  remained  undischarged,  or  we  had 
any  other  practical  mode  of  appropriating  the  surplus 
revenue,  the  form  of  protection,  by  high  duties,  might 
be  continued  without  public  detriment.  It  is  the  pay- 
ment of  the  public  debt,  then,  and  the  arrest  of  in- 
ternal improvements  by  the  exercise  of  the  veto,  that 
unsettles  that  specific  form  of  protection.  Nobody  sujh. 
poses,  or  proposes,  that  we  should  continue  to  levy, 
by  means  of  high  duties,  a  large  annual  surplus,  of 
which  no  practical  use  can  be  made,  for  the  sake  of 
the  incidental  protection  which  they  afford.  The 


116  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury  estimates  that  surplus  on 
the  existing  scale  of  duties,  and  with  the  other  sources 
of  revenue,  at  six  millions  annualljr.  An  annual 
accumulation  at  that  rate  would,  in  a  few  years,  bring 
into  the  treasury  the  whole  currency  of  the  country, 
to  lie  there  inactive  and  dormant." 

The  Compromise  Bill,  in  consequence  of  the  unwea- 
ried exertions  of  Mr.  Clay,  passed  the  House  on  tho 
26th  of  February,  1833,  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  to  eighty-four;  and  the  Senate,  on  the  1st  of 
March  following,  by  a  vote  of  twenty-nine  to  sixteen. 
This  result  was  most  propitious  to  the  interests  of 
the  whole  Confederacy,  restoring  concord,  preserving 
unity,  and  averting  civil  war  and  bloodshed,  the  pro- 
bable horrors  of  which  it  would  be  impossible  for  the 
mind  to  conjecture,  or  adequately  estimate;  while, 
at  the  same  time,  it  placed  Mr.  Clay  on  an  exalted 
and  honorable  eminence,  as  the  preserver  of  the 
unity  and  prosperity  of  the  nation.  He  regarded 
the  glorious  work  which  he  had  been  able  to  achieve 
with  that  particular  pride  and  jo}%  which  were  so 
natural  to  the  breast  of  a  true  patriot,  whose  feli- 
citous destiny  it  had  been,  to  merit  the  gratitude 
of  his  country  by  the  importance  and  value  of  his 
services. 

In  the  autumn  of  1833  Mr.  Clay  complied  with 
repeated  invitations  which  had  been  extended  to 
him,  to  visit  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  of  the 
Union.  The  reception  with  which  he  was  greeted, 
during  the  progress  of  his  journey,  indicated  the  im- 
mense popularity  which  he  had  attained,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  his  countrvmen.  Immense  and  enthusias- 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  117 

tic  crowds  greeted  his  arrival  at  Baltimore,  Philadel- 
phia, New  York,  Providence,  Boston,  Charlestown, 
Lowell,  Sulem,  Albany,  and  many  other  places  of 
importance  on  his  route.  He  declined  the  frequent 
invitations  which  he  received  to  public  dinners.  The 
manufacturing  population  of  New  England,  espe- 
cially, hailed  his  presence  as  that  of  a  public  bene- 
factor and  national  favorite.  He  visited  many  insti- 
tutions of  interest  in  the  leading  cities  through  which 
he  passed  ;  and  no  conqueror,  loaded  with  the  spoils 
of  blood-bought  victories,  ever  received  such  genuine 
homage  and  applause  from  his  countrymen,  as  this 
triumphant  hero  of  peace,  conciliation,  and  union. 
He  visited  ex-President  Adams  at  Quincy,  and  as- 
cended the  historic  heights  of  Bunker  Hill ;  on 
which  a  platform  having  been  erected,  he  was  ad- 
dressed, in  the  presence  of  a  great  multitude,  by 
Edward  Everett,  as  chairman  of  the  committee,  in  a 
complimentary  speech.  The  recipient  of  these,  and 
many  other  demonstrations  of  popular  applause,  re- 
turned to  Washington  at  the  opening  of  Congress. 
During  the  entire  tour  he  was  accompanied  by  Mrs. 
Clay,  and  by  a  portion  of  his  family,  who  were  thus 
the  gratiiied  witnesses  of  this  extraordinary  exhibi- 
tion of  a  nation's  esteem  and  admiration. 


118  THE    LITE    AND    TIMES 


CHAPTER  IX. 

DISPOSAL  OF  THE  PUBLIC  LANDS  —  POLICY  OF  MR.  CLAT  RESPECTING 
THEM  —  HIS  REPORT  ON  THE  SUBJECT — PRESIDENT  JACKSON'S  OP- 
POSITION TO  IT  —  THE  BANK  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  —  THE  PRE- 
SIDENT RESOLVES  TO  REMOVE  THE  DEPOSITS  —  CHANGES  PRODUCED 
THEREBY  IN  HIS  CABINET  —  THE  OPPOSITION  OF  CONGRESS  TO  THE 
MEASURE  —  THE  DEPOSITS  REMOVED  —  MR.  CLAY's  SPEECHES  OK 
THE  SUBJECT  —  THE  EXPUNGING  RESOLUTION  —  EXTRACTS. 

Ix  March,  1832,  the  subject  of  the  disposal  of  the 
public  lands  was  introduced  into  the  deliberations  of 
Congress.  A  proposition  was  made  by  Mr.  Bibb,  of 
Kentucky,  to  reduce  their  price ;  while  other  Repre- 
sentatives urged  that  the  public  territory,  which  be- 
longed to  the  United  States,  should  be  sold  to  the 
respective  States  within  which  they  were  located,  at 
a  moderate  price.  These  propositions  were  referred 
to  the  committee  of  which  Mr.  Clay  was  a  member ; 
and  the  supposition  was,  that  he  might  be  tempted  to 
advocate  the  sale  of  the  public  lands  on  those  terms, 
in  order  to  acquire  popularity  in  the  Western  States, 
thereby  defending  a  policy  inconsistent  with  his  pre- 
vious position. 

Mr.  Clay  detected  the  trap  with  his  usual  sagacity, 
and  evaded  it.  The  position  which  he  assumed  and 
advocated  was  not  only  independent  of  any  selfish  con- 
sideration, but  was  just  and  equitable  in  itself.  He 
contended  that  the  public  lands  were  a  national  do- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  119 

main,  belonging  in  common  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. Ito  right  to  this  territory  was  based  both  on 
conquest  and  compact.  It  had  been  obtained  by  the 
blood  and  the  money  of  the  original  thirteen  colonies. 
The  triurr.ph  at  Yorktown,  and  the  treaty  of  peace 
made  by  discomfited  England,  acknowledging  the 
freedom  and  independent  sovereignty  of  the  revolted 
colonies,  completed  and  perfected  their  indefeasible 
title.  The  thirteen  States,  the  original  foeftees  of 
those  dom&ins,  then  conveyed  their  right,  title,  and 
interest  therein  to  the  Federal  Government,  to  be  ad- 
ministered for  the  common  good,  and  to  serve  as 
sources  from  which  to  replenish  the  common  trea- 
sury. In  return,  the  Federal  Government  had  pledged 
itself  to  administer  the  trust  according  to  the  wishes 
of  the  grantors, — for  the  interests  of  the  original  pos- 
sessors, and  of  those  new  States  which  might  after- 
ward become  incorporated  into  the  Union. 

Mr.  Clay  made  an  able  report  from  the  Committee 
on  Public  Lands.  The  positions  which  he  assumed 
and  advocated  on  this  subject  will  be  understood 
most  clearly  from  the  following  provisions  of  hia 
bill: 

I.  That  after  the  thirty-first  day  of  December, 
1832,  twelve  and  a  half  per  cent,  of  the  net  proceeds 
of  the  public  lands  sold  within  their  limits,  should  be 
paid  to  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Alabama,  Missouri, 
and  Mississippi,  over  and  above  what  these  States 
were  severally  entitled  to  by  the  compacts  of  their 
admission  into  the  Union ;  to  be  applied  to  internal 
improvements  and  purposes  of  education  within  those 
States,  under  the  direction  of  their  Legislatures  —  in- 


120  THELIFE"  AND  TIMES 

Uepenclently  of  the  provisions  for  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  the  Cumberland  road. 

II.  After  this  deduction,  the  net  proceeds  were  to 
bo  distributed  among  the  (then)  twenty-four  States, 
according  to  their  respective  federal  representative 
population ;  to  be  applied  to  such  objects  of  internal 
improvement,  education,  or  colonization,  as  might  be 
designated  by  their  respective  Legislatures,  or  the 
reimbursement  of  any  previous  debt  contracted  for 
internal  improvements. 

III.  The  act  to  continue  in  force  for  five  years, 
except  in  the  event  of  a  war  with  any  foreign  Power; 
and  additional  provisions  to  be  made  for  any  new 
State    that  might    be   meanwhile   admitted   to   the 
Union. 

IV.  The  minimum  price  of  the  public  lands  not  to 
be  increased;  and  not  less  than  eighty  thousand  dol- 
lars per  annum  to  be  applied  to  complete  the  public 
surveys. 

V.  Land   offices  to    oe   discontinued   in    districts 
where,  for  two  successive  years,  the  proceeds  of  sales 
should  be  insufficient  to  pay  the  salaries  of  the  officers 
employed. 

VI.  That   certain    designated   quantities   of  land 
should  be  granted  to  six  of  the  new  States,  not  to  be 
sold  at  a  less  price  than  the  minimum  price  of  lands 
sold  by  the  United  States,  to  be  applied  to  internal 
improvements. 

General  Jackson  had  previously  advocated  a  simi- 
lar arrangement;  nevertheless,  when  the  bill  passed 
both  Houses,  and  was  laid  before  him  for  his  ap- 
proval, he  could  not  sacrifice  his  personal  hostility 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  121 

against  the  author  of  the  bill  to  his  consistency,  but 
vetoed  it.  Subsequently,  on  the  2d  of  May,  1834, 
Mr.  Clay  introduced  his  propositions  again  into  Con- 
gress, and  after  a  vigorous  struggle,  obtained  the 
establishment  of  those  principles  and  measures,  in 
reference  to  the  public  lands,  which  he  had  always 
advocated,  and  which  have  remained  the  equitable 
and  beneficent  law  of  the  land. 

The  most  important  event  connected  with  this 
period  of  Mr.  Clay's  career,  was  the  struggle  between 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States  and  President  Jack- 
son. In  1830  the  financial  condition  of  the  country 
was  prosperous ;  yet  at  that  period,  the  President 
commenced  his  attacks  upon  the  "  monster,"  which 
eventually  led  to  the  most  serious  results.  In  his 
message  of  that  year  he  recommended  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Treasury  Bank,  on  the  ground  that  the  de- 
posits of  the  national  funds  were  not  safe  in  the 
vaults  of  the  United  States  Bank ;  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  "strengthening  the  States"  by  giving  them 
the  means  of  furnishing  the  local  paper  currency 
through  their  own  banks."  In  1831  Congress  passed 
a  bill  for  the  recharter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  which  the  President  immediately  vetoed ;  at 
the  same  time  intimating  that  if  he  had  been  invited 
to  furnish  the  plan  of  "  such  an  institution  as  would 
be  constitutional,"  he  would  willingly  have  done  so. 
Mr.  Clay  condemned  the  positions  contained  in  the 
vetoing  message  with  great  earnestness,  and  assailed 
them  with  much  ability,  in  July,  1832.  He  also  in- 
sisted that  the  President  had  mistaken  his  oath  to 
.support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  when 
11 


122  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

he  claimed  the  right,  to  put  upon  it  whatever  inter- 
pretation of  its  meaning  he  pleased.  He  was  bound 
to  obey  it  as  he  found  it,  and  as  it  was  understood 
in  the  general  comprehension  of  the  nation.  These 
positions  of  the  President  were  preparatory  to  his 
subsequent  attacks  on  the  Bank.  In  the  autumn 
of  1833  he  determined  to  stretch  his  power  to  the 
utmost,  and  effect  a  removal  of  the  deposits  from  the 
Bank,  as  the  most  effectual  blow  which  could  possibly 
be  struck  at  its  prosperity. 

It  was  not  without  difficulty  that  the  President 
obtained  a  public  officer  who  was  sufficiently  pliable 
to  his  will,  as  to  serve  as  his  agent  in  accomplishing 
this  important  and  decisive  step.  It  seems  to  be  an 
admitted  doctrine  of  constitutional  law,  that  the 
treasury  of  the  United  States  was  never  intended  to  be 
placed  under  the  authority  of  the  Executive  branch 
of  the  Federal  Government;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
that  it  is  of  essential  importance  that  they  should 
always  remain  entirely  distinct;  and  that  the  House 
of  Representatives,  the  Democratic  branch  of  the 
government,  should  exercise  complete  control  over 
the  funds  of  the  Confederac}7.  Hence,  the  "Trea- 
surer of  the  United  States,"  and  not  the  "Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,"  is  the  person  to  whom  the  pub- 
lic moneys  are  entrusted ;  and  hence  it  is  further 
enacted,  that  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States 
shall  receive  and  keep  the  moneys  of  the  United 
States,  and  disburse  the  same,  upon  warrants  drawn 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  countersigned  by 
the  Controller,  recorded  by  the  Register,  and  not 
otherwise.  It  is  also  provided  that  no  money  shall 


OF    HENRY    CLAT.  128 

be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but  in  consequence  of 
"appropriations  made  by  law"  —  a  function  which 
lies  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Congress  alone.  Hence 
it  was  contended  by  Mr.  Clay,  that  the  order  of  the 
President  to  withdraw  the  deposits  from  the  IBank, 
where  they  had  been  placed  by  the  action  of  Con- 
gress, was  unconstitutional,  and  exceeded  his  autho- 
rity. Nineteen  million  dollars  was  the  amount  then 
deposited  and  subject  to  the  drafts  of  the  govern- 
ment, in  the  vaults  of  the  Bank.  Congress,  as  if  to 
avert  the  purpose  of  the  President  by  a  significant 
hint,  passed  a  resolution  that  the  public  funds  were 
safe  while  in  the  Bank ;  but  the  President  proceeded 
to  the  accomplishment  of  his  determination.  When 
he  proposed  the  removal  of  the  deposits,  and  their 
distribution  among  certain  favorite  State  banks,  to 
his  Cabinet,  they  all  expressed  their  conviction  of 
the  unconstitutionality  of  the  measure.  He  then 
read  to  them  a  paper,  in  which  he  declared  that  he 
wished  his  Cabinet  to  consider  the  proposed  mea- 
sure as  entirely  his  own  ;  in  support  of  which  he 
would  not  require  any  of  them  to  make  a  sacrifice  of 
opinion  or  of  principle,  and  that  he  himself  assumed 
its  entire  responsibility. 

In  September,  1833,  the  President  proceeded  in  the 
execution  of  his  purpose,  and  directed  Mr.  McClain, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  order  the  removal 
of  the  deposits.  He  declined,  and  was  dismissed 
from  his  office.  William  J.  Duane,  of  Philadelphia, 
was  then  chosen  in  his  place ;  but  Mr.  Duane  also 
refused  to  become  the  agent  in  accomplishing  the 
President's  purpose,  and  was  also  dismissed.  Roger 


124  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

B.  Tauey,  of  Maryland,  was  then  called  to  the  vacant 
post.  lie  accepted  it,  and  readily  obeyed  the  injunc- 
tion of  the  President  to  withdraw  the  public  moneys 
from  the  bank. 

It  may  naturally  be  supposed  that  this  summary 
method  of  proceeding  excited  the  utmost  hostility  of 
the  opponents  and  enemies  of  the  President.  They 
regarded  his  measures  as  arbitrary,  tyrannical,  and 
dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  country.  Bold  and 
confident  statesmen,  among  whom  Mr.  Clay  was 
foremost,  considered  the  condition  of  the  nation  as 
perilous.  On  the  26th  of  December,  1833,  he  accord- 
ingly introduced  resolutions  in  the  Senate  to  the 
following  effect : 

"  Resolved,  That  by  dismissing  the  late  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  because  he  would  not,  contrary  to 
his  sense  of  his  own  duty,  remove  the  money  of  the 
United  States  in  deposite  with  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  and  its  branches,  in  conformity  with  the  Presi- 
dent's opinion,  and  by  appointing  his  successor  to 
effect  such  removal,  which  has  been  done,  the  Presi- 
dent has  assumed  the  exercise  of  a  power  over  the 
treasury  of  the  United  States  not  granted  to  him  by 
the  Constitution  and  laws,  and  dangerous  to  the  liber- 
ties of  the  people. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  reasons  assigned  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  for  the  removal  of  the  money 
of  the  United  States,  deposited  in  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  and  its  branches,  communicated  to 
Congress  on  the  third  of  December,  1833,  are  unsatis- 
factory and  insufficient." 

Mr.  Taney  had  been  called  upon  by  a  previous  re- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  125 

solution  of  Congress  to  furnish  the  Houses  vith  a 
ropy  of  the  letter  containing  the  reasons  by  which 
his  action  as  Secreiary  of  the  Treasury  was  defended. 
The  resolutions  of  Mr.  Clay  were  discussed  with  great 
zeal  and  ability,  he  himself  taking  a  prominent  part 
in  the  debate.  During  the  course  of  his  remarks  on 
this  occasion,  he  uttered  the  following  attack  upon  the 
prominent  actors  in  this  event: 

"  The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in 
the  first  paragraph,  commences  with  a  mis-statement 
of  the  fact.  He  says,  *  I  have  directed'  that  the  de- 
posifs  of  the  money  of  the  United  States  shall  not 
be  made  in  the  Bank  of  the  United  Slates.  If  this 
assertion  is  regarded  in  any  other  than  a  mere  formal 
eense,  it  is  not  true.  The  Secretary  may  have  been 
the  instrument,  the  clerk,  the  automaton,  in  whose 
name  the  order  was  issued  ;  but  the  measure  was  that 
of  the  President,  by  whose  authority  or  command  the 
order  was  given ;  and  of  this  we  have  the  highest  and 
most  authentic  evidence.  The  President  has  told  the 
world  that  the  measure  was  his  own,  and  that  he  took 
it  upon  his  own  responsibility.  And  he  has  exone- 
rated his  Cabinet  from  all  responsibility  about  it. 
The  Secretary  ought  to  have  frankly  disclosed  all  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  and  told  the  truth,  the 
whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth.  If  he  had 
done  so,  he  would  have  informed  Congress  that  the 
removal  had  been  decided  by  the  President  on  tho 
eighteenth  of  September  last;  that  it  had  been  an 
nounced  to  the  public  on  the  twentieth;  and  that  Mr. 
Duane  remained  in  office  until  the  twenty-third.  He 
would  have  informed  Congress  that  this  important 


126  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

measure  was  decided  before  he  entered  into  his  new 
office,  and  was  the  cause  of  his  appointment.  Yes, 
sir,  the  present  secretary  stood  by,  a  witness  to  the 
struggle  in  the  mind  of  his  predecessor,  between  his 
attachment  to  the  President  and  his  duty  to  the  coun- 
try ;  saw  him  dismissed  from  office,  because  he  would 
not  violate  his  conscientious  obligations,  and  came 
into  his  place,  to  do  what  he  could  not,  honorably, 
and  would  not  perform.  A  son  of  one  of  the  fathers 
of  Democracy,  by  an  administration  professing  to  be 
Democratic,  was  expelled  from  office,  and  his  place 
supplied  by  a  gentleman,  who,  throughout  his  whole 
career,  has  been  uniformly  opposed  to  Democracy ! — 
a  gentleman  who,  at  another  epoch  of  the  republic, 
when  it  was  threatened  with  civil  war,  and  a  dissolu- 
tion of-  the  Union,  voted  (although  a  resident  of  a 
slave  State),  in  the  Legislature  of  Maryland,  against 
the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union  without  a 
restriction  incompatible  with  her  rights  as  a  member 
of  the  confederacy  !  Mr.  Duane  was  dismissed  be- 
cause the  solemn  convictions  of  his  dut}'  would  not 
allow  him  to  conform  to  the  President's  will — because 
his  logic  did  not  bring  his  mind  to  the  same  conclu- 
sions with  those  of  the  logic  of  a  venerable  old  gen- 
tleman, inhabiting  a  white  house  not  distant  from  the 
capitol  —  because  his  watch  [here  Mr.  Clay  held  up 
his  own]  did  not  keep  time  with  that  of  the  Presi- 
aident.  He  was  dismissed  under  that  detestable 
system  of  proscription  for  opinion's  sake,  which  has 
finally  dared  to  intrude  itself  into  the  halls  of  Con- 
gress—  a  system  under  which  three  unoffending 
clerks,  the  husbands  of  wives,  the  fathers  of  families, 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  127 

dependent  on  them  for  support,  without  the  slightest 
imputation  of  delinquency,  have  been  recently  un- 
ceremoniously discharged,  and  driven  out  to  beggary, 
by  a  man,  himself  the  substitute  of  a  meritorious 
officer,  who  has  not  been  in  this  city  a  period  equal 
to  one  monthly  revolution  of  the  moon !  I  tell  our 
secretary  [said  Mr.  Clay,  raising  his  voice],  that,  if  he 
touch  a  single  hair  of  the  head  of  any  one  of  the 
clerks  of  the  Senate  (I  am  sure  he  is  not  disposed  to 
do  it),  on  account  of  his  opinions,  political  or  reli- 
gious, if  no  other  member  of  the  Senate  does  it,  I 
will  instantly  submit  a  resolution  for  his  own  dis- 
mission. 

"  The  secretary  ought  to  have  communicated  all 
these  things  —  he  ought  to  have  stated  that  the  Cabi- 
net was  divided  two  and  two,  and  one  of  the  mem- 
bers [Mr.  Cass,  Secretary  of  War]  equally  divided 
with  himself  on  the  question,  willing  to  be  put  into 
either  scale.  He  ought  to  have  given  a  full  account 
of  this,  the  most  important  act  of  executive  authority 
since  the  origin  of  the  government — he  should  have 
stated  with  what  unsullied  honor  his  predecessor  re- 
tired from  office,  and  on  what  degrading  conditions 
he  accepted  his  vacant  place.  When  a  momentous 
proceeding  like  this,  varying  the  constitutional  dis- 
tribution of  the  powers  of  the  legislative  and  execu- 
tive departments,  was  resolved  on,  the  ministers 
against  whose  advice  it  was  determined,  should  have 
resigned  their  stations.  No  ministers  of  any  monarch 
in  Europe,  under  similar  circumstances,  would  have 
retained  the  seals  of  office.  And  if,  as  nobody  doubts, 
there  is  a  cabal  behind  the  curtain,  without  character 


128  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

and  without  responsibility,  feeding  the  passions,  stimu- 
lating the  prejudices,  and  moulding  the  actions  of  the 
incumbent  of  the  Presidential  office,  it  was  an  addi- 
tional reason  for  their  resignations.  There  is  not  a 
mattre  d' hotel  in  Christendom,  who,  if  the  scullions 
were  put  into  command  into  the  parlor  and  dining- 
room,  would  not  scorn  to  hold  his  place,  and  fling  it 
up  in  disgust  with  indignant  pride!" 

After  a  protracted  discussion  the  substance  of  Mr. 
Clay's  resolutions  was  passed  in  the  Senate  on  the 
28th  of  March,  1834,  by  a  vote  of  twenty  to  twenty- 
six.  On  the  23d  of  June  Mr.  Taney's  nomination  as 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  sent  in,  and  rejected 
by  a  vote  of  eighteen  to  twenty-eight.  Subsequently 
he  was  rewarded  for  his  zeal  in  the  service  of  the 
President,  by  his  appointment  tc  the  office  of  the 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States. 

The  popularity  and  power  of  the  Hero  of  New  Or- 
leans culminated  in  February,  1835,  when  a  resolu- 
tion was  introduced  into  the  Senate  by  Mr.  Benton, 
of  Missouri,  to  expunge  from  the  minutes  of  that 
body  the  resolution  of  March,  1834,  condemning  the 
removal  of  the  deposits.  The  motion  was  defeated 
on  this  occasion;  but  it  was  subsequently  renewed  in 
January,  1837,  and  passed.  On  both  of  these  occa- 
sions Mr.  Clay  opposed  the  measure  with  his  usual 
eloquence,  but  in  vain.  It  was  ordered  that  the 
manuscript  journal  of  the  minutes  should  be  brought 
into  the  Senate ;  that  the  clerk  should  draw  black 
lines  around  the  resolution  ;  and  that  over  it  should 
be  written  in  large  letters  the  words:  "Expunged  by 
order  of  the  Senate,  this  IQth  day  of  January,  in  the 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  129 

year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty -seven" 
In  opposition  to  this  resolution  Mr.  Clay  uttered  tho 
following  earnest  appeal : 

'•  Mr.  President,  what  patriotic  purpose  is  to  be 
accomplished  by  this  expunging  resolution?  What 
new  honor  or  fresh  laurels  will  it  win  for  our  common 
country  ?  Is  the  power  of  the  Senate  so  vast  that  it 
ought  to  be  circumscribed,  and  that  of  the  President 
so  restricted  that  it  ought  to  be  extended?  What 
power  has  the  Senate  ?  Kone,  separately.  It  can 
only  act  jointly  with  the  other  House,  or  jointly  with 
the  Executive.  And  although  the  theory  of  the  Con- 
stitution supposes,  when  consulted  by  him,  it  may 
freely  give  an  affirmative  or  negative  response,  ac- 
cording to  the  practice,  as  it  now  exists,  it  has  lost 
the  faculty  of  pronouncing  the  negative  monosylla- 
ble. When  the  Senate  expresses  its  deliberate  judg- 
ment, in  the  form  of  resolution,  that  resolution  has 
no  compulsory  force,  but  appeals  only  to  the  dispas- 
sionate intelligence,  the  calm  reason,  and  the  sober 
judgment  of  the  community.  The  Senate  has  no 
army,  no  navy,  no  patronage,  no  lucrative  offices  nor 
glittering  honors  to  bestow.  Around  us  there  is  no 
swarm  of  greedy  expectants,  rendering  us  homage, 
anticipating  our  wishes,  and  ready  to  execute  our 
commands. 

"  How  is  it  with  the  President  ?  Is  he  powerless  ? 
He  is  felt  from  one  extremity  to  the  other  of  this  vast 
republic.  By  means  of  principles  which  he  has  in- 
troduced, and  innovations  which  he  has  made  in  ouf 
institutions,  alas!  but  too  much  countenanced  by 
Congress  and  a  confiding  people,  he  exercises  uncon- 

I 


130  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

trolled  the  power  of  the  State.  In  one  hand  he  hold** 
the  purse,  and  in  the  other  brandishes  the  sword  of 
the  country.  Myriads  of  dependents  and  partisans, 
scattered  over  the  land,  are  ever  ready  to  sing  hosan- 
nalis  to  him,  and  to  laud  to  the  skies  whatever  he 
does.  He  has  swept  over  the  Government,  during 
the  last  eight  years,  like  &  tropical  tornado.  Every 
department  exhibits  traces  of  the  ravages  of  the 
storm.  Take,  as  one  example,  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States.  No  institution  could  have  been  more  popular 
with  the  people,  with  Congress,  and  with  State  Legis- 
latures. None  ever  better  fulfilled  the  great  purposes 
of  its  establishment.  But  it  unfortunately  incurred 
the  displeasure  of  the  President.  He  spoke,  and  the 
bank  lies  prostrate.  And  those  who  were  loudest  in 
its  praise  are  now  loudest  in  its  condemnation.  What 
object  of  his  ambition  is  unsatisfied?  When  disabled 
from  age  any  longer  to  hold  the  sceptre  of  power,  he 
designates  his  successor,  and  transmits  it  to  his  favor- 
ite. What  more  does  he  want?  Must  we  blot,  de- 
face, and  mutilate  the  records  of  the  country  to 
punish  the  presumptuousness  of  expressing  an  opi- 
nion contrary  to  his  own  ? 

"  What  patriotic  purpose  is  to  be  accomplished  by 
this  expunging  resolution  ?  Can  you  make  that  not 
to  be  which  has  been  ?  Can  you  eradicate  from 
memory  and  from  history  the  fact,  that  in  March, 
1834,  a  majority  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
passed  the  resolution  which  excites  your  enmity?  Is 
it  your  vain  and  wicked  object  to  arrogate  to  your- 
selves that  power  of  annihilating  the  past  which  has 
been  denied  to  Omnipotence  itself?  Do  you  intend 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  131 

to  thrust  your  hands  into  our  hearts,  and  to  pluck  out 
the  deeply-rooted  convictions  which  are  there  ?  or  ia 
it  your  design  merely  to  stigmatize  us?  You  cannot 
stigmatize  us. 

" '  Ne'er  yet  did  base  dishonor  blur  our  name.' 

"  Standing  securely  upon  our  conscious  rectitude, 
and  bearing  aloft  the  shield  of  the  Constitution  of 
our  country,  your  puny  efforts  are  impotent,  and  we 
defy  all  your  power.  Put  the  majority  of  1834  in  one 
scale,  and  that  by  which  this  expunging  resolution  is 
to  be  carried,  in  the  other,  and  let  truth  and  justice, 
in  heaven  above  and  on  the  earth  below,  and  liberty 
and  patriotism,  decide  the  preponderance. 

"  What  patriotic  purpose  is  to  be  accomplished  by 
this  expunging?  Is  it  to  appease  the  wrath,  and  to 
heal  the  wounded  pride,  of  the  Chief  Magistrate?  If 
lie  be  really  the  hero  that  his  friends  represent  him, 
he  must  despise  all  mean  condescension,  all  grovel- 
ling sycophancy,  all  self-degradation  and  self-abase- 
ment. He  would  reject  with  scorn  and  contempt,  as 
unworthy  of  his  fame,  your  black  scratches,  and  your 
baby  lines  in  the  fair  records  of  his  country.  Black 
lines  !  Black  lines  !  Sir,  I  hope  the  secretary  of  the 
Senate  will  preserve  the  pen  with  which  he  may  in- 
scribe them,  and  present  it  to  that  senator  of  the 
majority  whom  he  may  select,  as  A  proud  trophy  to 
be  transmitted  to  his  descendants.  And  hereafter, 
when  we  shall  lose  the  forms  of  our  free  institutions, 
all  that  now  remain  to  us,  some  future  American 
monarch  in  gratitude  to  those  by  whose  means  he 


132  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

has  been  enabled,  upon  the  ruins  of  civil  liberty,  to 
erect  a  throne,  and  to  commemorate  especially  thia 
expunging  resolution,  may  institute  a  new  order  of 
knighthood,  and  confer  on  it  the  appropriate  name 

of  THE    KNIGHT   OF   THE    BLACK   LINES. 

"But  why  should  I  detain  the  Senate,  or  needlessly 
waste  my  breath  in  fruitless  exertions?  The  decree 
has  gone  forth.  It  is  one  of  urgency,  too.  The  deed 
is  to  be  done  —  that  foul  deed,  like  the  blood-stained 
hands  of  the  guilty  Macbeth,  all  ocean's  waters  will 
never  wash  out.  Proceed,  then,  to  the  noble  work 
which  lies  before  you,  and  like  other  skilful  execu- 
tioners, do  it  quickly.  And  when  yon  have  perpe- 
trated it,  go  home  to  the  people,  and  tell  them  what 
glorious  honors  you  have  achieved  for  our  common 
country.  Tell  them  that  you  have  extinguished  one 
of  the  brightest  and  purest  lights  that  ever  burned  at 
the  altar  of  civil  liberty.  Tell  them  that  you  have 
silenced  one  of  the  noblest  batteries  that  ever  thun- 
dered in  defence  of  the  Constitution,  and  bravely 
spiked  the  cannon.  Tell  them  that,  henceforward, 
no  matter  what  daring  or  outrageous  act  any  Presi- 
dent may  perform,  you  have  forever  hermetically 
sealed  the  mouth  of  the  Senate.  Tell  them  that  he 
may  fearlessly  assume  what  power  he  pleases,  snatch 
from  its  lawful  custody  the  public  purse,  command  a 
military  detachment  to  enter  the  halls  of  the  capitol, 
overawe  Congress,  trample  down  the  Constitution, 
and  raze  every  bulwark  of  freedom ;  but  that  the 
Senate  must  stand  mute,  in  silent  submission,  and 
not  dare  to  raise  its  opposing  voice ;  that  it  must  wait 


OF    HENKY    CLAY.  133 

until  a  House  of  Representatives,  humbled  and  sub- 
dued like  itself,  and  a  majority  of  it  composed  of  the 
partisans  of  the  President,  shall  prefer  articles  of  im- 
peachment. Tell  them,  finally,  that  you  have  restored 
the  glorious  doctrine  of  passive  obedience  and  non- 
resistance;  and,  if  the  people  do  not  pour  out  their 
indignation  and  imprecations,  I  have  yet  to  learii  the 
character  of  American  freemen." 


131  THE    LIFE    AND    TIME! 


CHAPTER  X. 

MR.  CLAY'S  OPPOSITION  TO  PRESIDENT  JACKSON  —  HIS  VISIT  TO  KKW- 

TUCKY AMERICAN   CLAIMS   ON   FRANCE  —  THEIR  ADJUSTMENT  — 

MR.  CLAY'S  REPORT  ON  THE  SUBJECT — ELECTION  OF  MR.  TAN  BUREN 
TO  THE  PRESIDENCY  —  THE  SUB-TREASURY  SYSTEM — MR.  CLAY*3 
OPPOSITION  TO  IT — HIS  SPEECHES  ON  THE  SUBJECT — DEFEAT  OF  THK 
BILL  PROPOSING  IT — ITS  SUBSEQUENT  REVIVAL — CONTINUED  OPPO- 
SITION TO  IT  BY  MR.  CLAY. 

MR.  CLAY  took  a  prominent  part in  all  the  discussions 
which  were  held  in  the  session  of  Congress  of  1833-34, 
and  proved  himself  to  be  the  most  energetic  and  for- 
midable antagonist  who  ever  assailed  the  administra- 
tion and  the  authority  of  General  Jackson,  lie  resisted 
and  embarrassed  his  policy  at  every  step;  for  in  re- 
gnrd  to  all  his  leading  measures,  Mr.  Clay  sincerely 
thought  that  they  were  prejudicial  to  the  welfare  of 
the  country.  The  removal  of  the  deposits  had  pro- 
duced great  confusion  and  distress  in  the  financial 
affairs  of  the  community ;  and  an  immense  number 
of  memorials  were  sent  to  Congress  on  the  subject, 
demanding  a  change  in  the  policy  of  the  Government. 
Mr.  Clay  was  selected  by  the  petitioners  to  present  a 
large  proportion  of  these  appeals;  and  in  performing 
this  welcome  duty,  lie  accompanied  the  memorials 
with  several  speeches  of  immense  power  and  ability. 
This  remark  applies  particularly  to  those  memorable 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  135 

arguments  which  he  delivered  on  the  26th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1834,  when  ottering  a  memorial  from  Kentucky; 
and  to  that  of  the  15th  of  the  ensuing  April,  when 
presenting  another  from  Troy,  New  York. 

After  the  termination  of  the  first  session  of  the 
twenty-third  Congress,  on  the  30th  of  June,  Mr.  Clay 
commenced  his  journey  to  Kentucky,  anxious  to  re- 
visit his  home  and  family  after  his  long  and  arduous 
labors.  During  this  journey  he  made  a  very  narrow 
escape  from  death,  or  at  least  from  serious  injury, 
when  journeying  in  the  public  stage-coach  from 
Charlestown  to  Winchester,  in  Virginia.  The  coach 
was  overturned  while  descending  a  steep  hill,  and  one 
of  the  passengers  was  instantly  killed.  Mr.  Clay  re- 
ceived some  bruises,  though  not  of  a  very  severe  na- 
ture. At  the  opening  of  the  following  session  of 
Congress  he  was  at  his  post  again  with  his  usual 
promptitude  and  zeal  in  the  public  service.  A  subject 
was  soon  presented  for  discussion  which  elicited  his 
efforts  in  opposition  to  the  warlike  tendencies  of  Pre- 
sident Jackson.  Between  the  years  1800  and  1817, 
the  cruisers  of  France  had  made  repeated  aggressions 
on  American  commerce.  In  July,  1831,  a  treaty  had 
been  made  between  the  two  countries,  by  which  the 
French  Government  agreed  to  indemnify  the  Ameri- 
can claimants  for  their  losses  by  the  payment  of 
tuenty-tive  million  francs.  The  payment  of  the  first 
instalment  of  this  sum  fell  due  twelve  months  after 
the  date  of  the  treaty ;  but  that  period  had  elapsed, 
and  the  draft  of  the  American  Government  on  the 
French  Minister  of  Finance  for  the  amount,  had  been 
dishonored.  General  Jackson  recommended  that  a 


136  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

Ia\v  be  immediately  passed,  allowing  reprisals  to  be 
made  by  American  citizens  on  French  property. 

This  matter,  so  pregnant  with  important  and  peril- 
ous results,  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations,  of  which  Mr.  Clay  was  chairman.  On  the 
6th  of  January,  1835,  he  read  his  report  on  the  sub- 
ject in  the  Senate,  occupying  an  hour  and  a  half  in 
the  delivery  of  it.  It  was  an  able  and  profound  docu- 
ment, clearly  demonstrating  the  impolicy  and  injus- 
tice of  the  measure  recommended  by  the  President, 
and  advising  an  opposite  course.  While  maintaining 
the  national  honor  by  a  high  and  chivalrous  tone  — 
while  contending  for  the  justice  and  equity  of  the 
American  claims  —  he  demonstrated  that  it  was  just 
to  allow  further  time  and  opportunity  to  the  French 
Government  to  execute  the  terms  of  the  existing 
treaty.  His  efforts  on  this  occasion  prevailed ;  and  a 
resolution  was  finally  adopted  to  the  effect,  that  "  it 
was  inexpedient  at  that  time  to  adopt  any  legislative 
measures  in  regard  to  the  state  of  affairs  between  the 
United  States  and  France."  This  result,  which  was 
chiefly  due  to  the  influence  and  exertions  of  Mr. 
Clay,  may  with  truth  be  said  to  have  averted  from  the 
country  the  evils  and  calamities  involved  in  a  war 
with  France.  The  important  and  delicate  interests 
involved  in  this  subject  were  finally  and  satisfactorily 
adjusted  in  1836.  In  that  year  Mr.  Clay  was  again 
appointed  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations,  and  he  introduced  a  resolution  in  the  Se- 
nate calling  upon  the  President  to  furnish  Congress 
with  further  information  in  regard  to  the  state  of 
affairs  as  they  then  existed  between  the  two  govern- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  137 

ments.  The  resolution  was  adopted;  and  accordingly, 
in  February,  1836,  the  President  sent  in  a  message 
communicating  the  fact  that  the  British  Government 
had  tendered  its  mediation  for  the  purpose  of  settling 
the  differences  between  the  United  States  and  France. 
This  message  was  submitted  to  a  committee,  who  after- 
ward reported  that  the  proffered  mediation  had  been 
accepted,  and  that  the  matters  in  litigation  between 
the  two  governments  had  been  satisfactorily  settled. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  4th  of  July,  1836,  after 
which  Mr.  Clay  returned  to  Kentucky.  He  was  received 
by  his  neighbors  and  constituents  with  great  enthu- 
siasm, and  with  every  possible  display  of  admiration 
and  applause.  The  voice  of  calumny  and  of  enmity 
was  now  dumb.  The  peerless  statesman  had  regained 
the  popularity  of  which  he  had  been  temporarily  de- 
prived by  the  efforts  of  his  enemies  and  assailants. 
It  was  at  this  period  that  he  first  announced  his  de- 
termination soon  to  retire  from  the  toils  and  respon- 
sibilities of  public  life.  But  in  the  following  winter 
he  was  again  elected  by  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky 
to  represent  that  Commonwealth  in  the  United  States 
Senate.  The  vote  stood  seventy-six  for  Mr.  Clay, 
fifty-four  for  Mr.  Guthrie,  the  candidate  of  the  Ad- 
ministration. Mr.  Clay  once  more  accepted  the  high 
trust,  and  was  present  in  the  Senate  at  the  opening 
of  the  ensuing  session. 

The  result  of  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1836 
was  the  election  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  who  was 
chosen  as  the  representative  of  the  policy  of  General 
Jackson.  On  the  15th  of  May,  1837,  he  issued  hia 
proclamation,  summoning  an  extraordinary  session 
12* 


138  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

of  Congress  to  convene  on  the  first  Monday  of  Sep* 
tcmber.  When  that  body  assembled  at  the  appointed 
time,  Mr.  Van  Buren  transmitted  a  message  to  both 
Houses,  in  which  he  recommended  the  Sub-treasury 
system  for  the  deposit  and  disbursement  of  the  pub- 
lic funds.  This  topic  at  once  became  the  all-absorb- 
ing theme  of  discussion  in  Congress.  The  measures 
which  he  commended  involved  the  following  arrange- 
ments: the  revenues  of  the  United  States,  the  trea- 
sures deposited  in  the  Mint  and  its  branches,  the  col- 
lectors, receivers,  and  all  other  office-holders  were 
ordered  to  receive  in  specie;  and  they  were  to  keep 
subject  to  the  drafts  of  the  government,  all  public 
moneys  coming  into  their  possession,  instead  of  de- 
positing them,  as  formerly,  in  banks.  The  bill  em- 
bodying these  provisions  was  presented  in  the  Senate 
on  the  20th  of  September.  On  the  25th  ensuing, 
Mr.  Clay  addressed  that  body  in  opposition  to  it.  lu 
the  course  of  this  argument  he  spoke  as  follows: 

"No  period  has  ever  existed  in  this  country,  in 
which  the  future  was  covered  by  a  darker,  denser,  or 
more  impenetrable  gloom.  None,  in  which  the  duty 
was  more  imperative  to  discard  all  passion  and  preju- 
dice, all  party  ties  and  previous  bias,  and  look  exclu- 
sively to  the  good  of  our  afflicted  country.  In  one 
respect,  and  I  think  it  a  fortunate  one,  our  present 
difficulties  are  distinguishable  from  former  domestic 
trouble,  and  that  is  their  universality.  They  are  felt, 
it  is  true,  in  different  degrees,  but  they  reach  every 
section,  every  State,  every  interest,  almost  every  man 
in  the  Union.  All  feel,  see,  hear,  know  their  exist- 
ence. As  they  do  not  array,  like  our  former  divisions, 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  13& 

one  portion  of  the  Confederacy  against  another,  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  common  sufferings  may  lead  to  com- 
mon sympathies  and  common  counsels,  and  that  we 
shall,  at  no  distant  day,  be  able  to  see  a  clear  way  of 
deliverance.  If  the  present  state  of  the  country  were 
produced  by  the  fault  of  the  people;  if  it  proceeded 
from  their  wasteful  extravagance,  and  their  indulg- 
ence of  a  reckless  spirit  of  ruinous  speculation ;  if 
public  measures  had  no  agency  whatever  in  bringing 
it  about,  it  would,  nevertheless,  be  the  duty  of  Gov- 
ernment to  exert  all  its  energies,  and  to  employ  all 
its  legitimate  powers,  to  devise  an  efficacious  remedy. 
But  if  our  present  deplorable  condition  has  sprung 
from  our  rulers ;  if  it  is  to  be  clearly  traced  to  their 
acts  and  operations,  that  duty  becomes  infinitely 
more  obligatory;  and  Government  would  be  faith- 
less to  the  highest  and  most  solemn  of  human  trusts 
should  it  neglect  to  perform  it.  And  is  it  not  too 
true,  that  the  evils  which  surround  us  are  to  be 
ascribed  to  those  who  have  had  the  conduct  of  our 
public  affairs? 

"In  glancing  at  the  past,  nothing  can  be  further 
from  my  intention  than  to  excite  angry  feelings,  or 
to  find  grounds  of  reproach.  It  would  be  far  more 
congenial  to  my  wishes  that,  on  this  occasion,  we 
should  forget  all  former  unhappy  divisions  and  ani- 
mosities. But  in  order  to  discover  how  to  get  out  of 
our  difficulties,  we  must  ascertain,  if  we  can,  how  we 
got  into  them. 

"Prior  to  that  series  of  unfortunate  measures  which 
had  for  its  object  the  overthrow  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  discontinuance  of  its  fiscal 


140  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

ngency  for  the  Government,  no  people  upon  earth 
ever  enjoyed  a  better  currency,  or  had  exchanges 
better  regulated,  than  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
Our  monetary  system  appeared  to  have  attained  as 
great  perfection  as  anything  human  can  possibly 
reach.  The  combination  of  United  States  and  local 
banks  presented  a  true  image  of  our  system  of  Gene- 
ral and  State  Governments,  and  worked  quite  as 
well.  Not  only  within  the  country  had  we  a  local 
and  general  currency  perfectly  sound,  but  in  what- 
ever quarter  of  the  globe  American  commerce  had 
penetrated,  there  also  did  the  bills  of  the  United 
States  Bank  command  unbounded  credit  and  confi- 
dence. Now  we  are  in  danger  of  having  fixed  upon 
us,  indefinitely  as  to  time,  that  medium,  an  irredeem- 
able paper  currency,  which,  by  the  universal  consent 
of  the  commercial  world,  is  regarded  as  the  worst. 
How  has  this  reverse  come  upon  us?  Can  it  be 
doubted  that  it  is  the  result  of  those  measures  to 
which  I  have  adverted?  When,  at  the  very  moment 
of  adopting  them,  the  very  consequences  which  have 
happened  were  foretold  as  inevitable,  is  it  necessary 
to  look  elsewhere  for  their  cause?  Never  was  pre- 
diction more  distinctly  made;  never  was  fulfilment 
more  literal  and  exact. 

"  Let  us  suppose  that  those  measures  had  not  been 
adopted;  that  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  hud 
been  rechartered ;  that  the  public  deposits  had  re- 
mained undisturbed;  and  that  the  treasury  order  had 
never  issued  ;  is  there  not  every  reason  to  believe  that 
we  should  be  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  sound  cur- 
rency ;  that  the  public  deposits  would  be  now  safe 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  141 

and  forthcoming,  and  that  the  suspension  of  specie 
payments  in  May  last  would  not  have  happened? 

**  The  President's  message  asserts  that  the  suspen- 
sion has  proceeded  from  over-action,  over-trading,  the 
indulgence  of  a  spirit  of  speculation,  produced  by 
bank  and  other  facilities.  I  think  this  is  a  view  of 
the  case  entirely  too  superficial.  It  would  be  quite 
as  correct  and  just,  in  the  instance  of  a  homicide  per- 
petrated by  the  discharge  of  a  gun,  to  allege  that  the 
leaden  ball,  and  not  the  man  who  levelled  the  piece, 
was  responsible  for  the  murder.  The  true  inquiry  is, 
how  came  that  excessive  over-trading,  and  those  ex- 
tensive bank  facilities,  which  the  message  describes? 
Were  they  not  the  necessary  and  immediate  conse- 
quences of  the  overthrow  of  the  bank,  and  the  re- 
moval from  its  custody  of  the  public  deposits?  And 
is  not  this  proved  by  the  vast  multiplication  of  banks, 
the  increase  of  the  line  of  their  discounts  and  accom- 
modations, prompted  and  stimulated  by  Secretary 
Taney,  and  the  great  augmentation  of  their  circula- 
tion which  ensued?" 

The  Sub-treasury  bill,  after  undergoing  some 
changes,  was  passed  in  the  Senate  on  the  4th  of  Oc- 
tober, but  afterward  defeated  in  the  House  on  the 
10th.  Congress  adjourned  on  the  16th  of  the  month, 
and  the  administration  was  thus  successfully  resisted, 
chiefly  through  the  agency  of  Mr.  Clay,  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  main  purpose  for  which  the  extra 
session  had  been  summoned. 

During  the  second  term  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Con- 
gress, the  subject  of  the  Sub-treasury  was  again  in- 
troduced into  the  discussions  of  that  body.  Mr.  Clay 


142  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

displayed  his  usual  zeal  and  ability  against  the  mea- 
sure. On  the  19th  of  Februar}-,  1838,  he  delivered  a 
lengthy  argument  against  the  project,  in  which  the 
following  passage  occurs  as  the  exordium: 

"  I  have  seen  some  public  service,  passed  through 
many  troubled  times,  and  often  addressed  public  as- 
semblies, in  this  capitol  and  elsewhere ;  but  never 
before  have  I  risen  in  a  deliberative  body,  under  more 
oppressed  feelings,  or  with  a  deeper  sense  of  awful  re- 
sponsibility. Never  before  have  I  risen  to  express  my 
opinions  upon  any  public  measure,  fraught  with  such 
tremendous  consequences  to  the  welfare  and  pros- 
perity of  the  country,  and  so  perilous  to  the  liberties 
of  the  people,  as  I  solemnly  believe  the  bill  under 
consideration  will  be.  If  you  knew,  sir,  what  sleep- 
less hours  reflection  upon  it  has  cost  me;  if  you  knew 
with  what  fervor  and  sincerity  I  have  implored  .Divine 
assistance  to  strengthen  and  sustain  me  in  my  oppo- 
sition to  it,  I  should  have  credit  with  you,  at  least,  for 
the  sincerity  of  my  convictions,  if  I  shall  be  so  un- 
fortunate as  not  to  have  your  concurrence  as  to  the 
dangerous  character  of  the  measure.  And  I  have 
thanked  my  God  that  He  has  prolonged  my  life  until 
the  present  time,  to  enable  me  to  exert  myself  in  the 
service  of  my  country,  against  a  project  far  transcend- 
ing in  pernicious  tendency  any  that  I  have  ever  had 
occasion  to  consider.  I  thank  Him  for  the  health  1 
am  permitted  to  enjoy;  I  thank  Him  for  the  soft  and 
sweet  repose  which  I  experienced  last  night;  I  thank 
Him  for  the  bright  and  glorious  sun  which  shines 
upon  us  this  day. 

"It  is  uot  my  purpose  at  this  time,  Mr.  President, 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  143 

to  go  at  large  into  a  consideration  of  the  causes  which 
have  led  to  the  present  most  disastrous  state  of  public 
affairs.  That  duty  was  performed  by  others,  and 
myself,  at  the  extra  session  of  Congress.  It  was  then 
clearly  shown  that  it  sprung  from  the  ill-advised  and 
unfortunate  measures  of  executive  administration.  I 
will  now  content  myself  with  saying  that,  on  the 
fourth  day  of  March,  1829,  Andrew  Jackson,  not  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  was  made  President  of  these 
United  States;  that  the  country  was  then  eminently 
prosperous ;  that  its  currency  was  as  sound  and  safe 
as  any  that  a  people  were  ever  blessed  with ;  that, 
throughout  the  wide  extent  of  this  whole  Union,  it 
possessed  a  uniform  value;  and  that  exchanges  were 
conducted  with  such  regularity  and  perfection,  that 
funds  could  be  transmitted  from  one  extremity  of  the 
Union  to  the  other,  with  the  least  possible  risk  or  loss. 
In  this  encouraging  condition  of  the  business  of  the 

O         O 

country,  it  remained  for  several  years,  until  after  the 
war  wantonly  waged  against  the  late  Bank  of  the 
United  States  was  completely  successful,  by  the  over- 
throw of  that  invaluable  institution.  What  our  pre- 
sent situation  is,  is  as  needless  to  describe  as  it  is 
painful  to  contemplate.  First  felt  in  our  great  com- 
mercial marts,  distress  and  embarrassment  have  pene- 
trated into  the  interior,  arid  now  pervade  almost  the 
entire  Union.  It  has  been  justly  remarked  by  one 
of  the  soundest  and  most  practical  writers  that  I  have 
had  occasion  to  consult,  that  '  all  convulsions  in  the 
circulation  and  commerce  of  every  country  must  ori- 
ginate in  the  operations  of  the  Government,  or  in  the 
mistaken  views  and  erroneous  measures  of  those  pos- 


144  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

sessing  the  power  of  influencing  credit  and  circula- 
tion ;  for  they  are  not  otherwise  susceptible  of  con- 
vulsion; and  if  left  to  themselves,  they  will  find  their 
own  level,  and  flow  nearly  in  one  uniform  stream.' 

"Yes,  Mr.  President,  we  all  have  but  too  melan 
choly  a  consciousness  of  the  unhappy  condition  of 
our  country.  We  all  too  well  know  that  our  noble 
and  gallant  ship  lies  helpless  and  immovable  upon 
breakers,  dismasted,  the  surge  beating  over  her  vene- 
rable sides,  and  the  crew  threatened  with  instanta- 
neous destruction.  How  came  she  there?  Who  was 
the  pilot  at  the  helm  when  she  was  stranded  ?  The 
party  in  power!  The  pilot  was  aided  by  all  the 
science  and  skill,  by  all  the  charts  and  instruments, 
of  such  distinguished  navigators  as  Washington,  the 
Adamses,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe;  and  yet 
he  did  not,  or  could  not,  save  the  public  vessel.  She 
was  placed  in  her  present  miserable  condition  by  his 
bungling  navigation,  or  by  his  want  of  skill  and  judg- 
ment. It  is  impossible  for  him  to  escape  from  one  or 
the  other  horn  of  that  dilemma.  I  leave  him  at 
liberty  to  choose  between  them." 

The  plan  of  this  speech  is  laid  out  as  follows : 

"I  shall  endeavor,  Mr.  President,  in  the  course  of 
the  address  I  am  about  making,  to  establish  certain 
propositions  which  I  believe  to  be  incontestable;  and 
for  the  sake  of  perspicuity,  I  will  state  them  severally 
to  the  Senate.  I  shall  contend: 

"First,  that  it  was  the  deliberate  purpose  and  fixed 
design  of  the  late  administration  to  establish  a  Govern- 
ment bank — a  treasury  bank — to  be  administered  and 
controlled  by  the  executive  department. 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  145 

"  Secondly,  that,  with  that  view,  and  to  that  end, 
it  was  its  aim  and  intention  to  overthrow  the  whole 
banking  system,  as  existing  in  the  United  States  when 
that  administration  came  into  power,  beginning  with 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States  and  ending  with  the 
State  banks. 

"  Thirdly,  that  the  attack  was  first  confined,  from 
considerations  of  policy,  to  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States ;  but  that,  after  its  overthrow  was  accomplished, 
it  was  then  directed,  and  has  since  been  continued, 
against  the  State  banks. 

"Fourthly,  that  the  present  administration,  by  its 
acknowledgments,  emanating  from  the  highest  and 
most  authentic  source,  has  succeeded  to  the  prin- 
ciples, plans,  and  policy  of  the  preceding  administra- 
tion, and  stands  solemnly  pledged  to  complete  and 
perfect  them. 

"And,  fifthly,  that  the  bill  under  consideration  is 
intended  to  execute  the  pledge,  by  establishing,  upon 
the  ruins  of  the  late  Bank  of  the  United  States  and 
the  State  banks,  a  Government  bank,  to  be  managed 
and  controlled  by  the  Treasury  Department,  acting 
under  the  commands  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States. 

"I  believe,  solemnly  believe,  the  truth  of  every  one 
of  these  five  propositions.  In  the  support  of  them,  I 
shall  not  rely  upon  any  gratuitous  surmises  or  vague 
conjectures,  but  upon  proofs,  clear,  positive,  unde- 
niable, arid  demonstrative.  To  establish  the  first 
four,  I  shall  adduce  evidence  of  the  highest  possible 
authenticity,  of  facts  admitted  or  undeniable,  and  fair 
reasoning  founded  on  them.  And  as  to  the  last,  the 
13  K 


146  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

measure  under  consideration,  I  think  the  testimony, 
intrinsic  and  extrinsic,  on  which  I  depend,  stamps, 
beyond  all  doubt,  its  true  character  as  a  Government 
bank,  and  ought  to  carry  to  the  mind  of  the  Senate 
the  conviction  which  I  entertain,  and  in  which  I  feel 
perfectly  confident  the  whole  country  will  share." 

Mr.  Clay  demonstrated  the  truth  of  each  of  these 
propositions  at  considerable  length,  and  with  remark- 
able conclusiveness  and  force  of  reasoning.  His 
views  on  the  subject  of  the  relation  of  specie  to  paper 
currency: 

"All  experience  [said  Mr.  Clay]  has  demonstrated 
that  in  banking  operations,  a  much  larger  amount  of 
paper  can  be  kept  out  in  circulation  than  the  specie 
which  it  is  necessary  to  retain  in  the  vaults  to  meet  it 
when  presented  for  payment.  The  proportions  which 
the  same  experience  has  ascertained  to  be  entirely 
safe,  are  one  of  specie  to  three  of  paper.  If,  there- 
fore, the  Executive  Government  had  sixty  millions  of 
dollars  accumulated  at  the  port  of  New  York,  in  the 
hands  of  the  receiver-general,  represented  by  sixty 
millions  of  Government  drafts  in  circulation,  it  would 
be  known  that  twenty  of  that  sixty  millions  would  be 
sufficient  to  retain  to  meet  any  amount  of  drafts 
which,  in  ordinary  times,  would  be  presented  for 
payment.  There  would  then  remain  forty  millions 
in  the  vaults,  idle  and  unproductive,  and  of  which  no 
practical  use  could  be  made.  Well ;  a  great  election 
is  at  hand  in  the  State  of  New  York,  the  result  of 
which  will  seal  the  fate  of  an  existing  Administration. 
If  the  application  of  ten  millions  of  that  dormant 
capital  could  save,  at  some  future  day,  a  corrupt  Ex- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  147 

ecutive  from  overthrow,  can  it  be  doubted  that  the 
ten  millions  would  be  applied  to  preserve  it  in  power? 
Again,  let  us  suppose  some  great  exigency  to  arise: 
a  season  of  war,  creating  severe  financial  pressure 
and  embarrassment.  Would  not  an  issue  of  paper, 
founded  upon  and  exceeding  the  specie  in  the  vaults, 
in  some  such  proportions  as  experience  had  demon- 
strated might  be  safely  emitted,  be  authorized  ?  Fi- 
nally, the  whole  amount  of  specie  might  be  exhausted, 
and  then,  as  it  is  easier  to  engrave  and  issue  bank- 
notes than  to  perform  the  unpopular  office  of  imposing 
taxes  and  burdens,  the  discovery  would  be  made  that 
the  credit  of  the  Government  was  a  sufficient  basis 
whereupon  to  make  emissions  of  paper  money,  to  be 
redeemed  when  peace  and  prosperity  returned.  Then 
we  should  have  the  days  of  continental  money,  and 
of  assignats,  restored  ! 

"  The  system  would  control  YOU.  You  could  not 
control  the  system.  Assuming  the  downfall  of  the 
local  banks  —  the  inevitable  consequence  of  the  ope- 
rations of  this  great  Government  bank;  assuming,  as 
I  have  shown  would  be  the  case,  that  the  Government 
would  monopolize  the  paper  issues  of  the  country, 
and  obtain  the  possession  of  a  great  portion  of  the 
specie  of  the  country,  we  should  then  behold  a  com- 
bined and  concentrated  moneyed  power  equal  to  that 
of  all  the  existing  banks  of  the  United  States,  with 
that  of  the  late  Bank  of  the  United  States  superadded. 
This  tremendous  power  would  be  wielded  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  acting  under  the  immediate 
commands  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
Here  would  be  a  perfect  union  pf  the  sword  and  tho 


148  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

purse;  here  would  be  no  imaginary,  but  an  actual, 
visible,  tangible  consolidation  of  the  moneyed  power. 
"Who  or  what  could  withstand  it?  The  States  them- 
selves would  become  suppliants  at  the  feet  of  the 
Executive  for  a  portion  of  those  paper  emissions,  of 
the  power  to  issue  which  they  had  been  stripped,  and 
which  he  now  exclusively  possessed. 

"How  admirably  did  the  whole  system,  during  the 
forty  years  of  its  existence  [Bank  of  the  United 
States],  move  and  work!  And  on  the  two  unfortu- 
nate occasions  of  its  ceasing  to  exist,  how  quickly  did 
the  business  and  transactions  of  the  country  run  into 
wild  disorder  and  utter  confusion  ! 

"  I  have  been  curious,  Mr.  President,  to  know 
whence  this  idea  of  receivers-general  was  derived.  It 
has  been  supposed  to  have  been  borrowed  from 
France.  It  required  all  the  power  of  that  most  extra- 
ordinary man  that  ever  lived,  Napoleon  Bonaparte, 
when  he  was  in  his  meridian  greatness,  to  displace 
the  farmers-general,  and  to  substitute  in  their  place 
the  receivers-general.  The  new  pystem  requires,  I 
think  I  have  heard  it  stated,  something  like  one  hun- 
dred thousand  employees  to  have  it  executed.  And, 
notwithstanding  the  modesty  of  the  infant  promises 
of  this  newr  project,  I  have  no  doubt  that  ultimately 
we  shall  have  to  employ  a  number  of  persons  approx- 
imating to  that  which  is  retained  in  France.  That 
will  undoubtedly  be  the  case  whenever  we  shall  revive 
the  system  of  internal  taxation.  In  France,  what 
reconciled  them  to  the  system  was,  that  Kapoleon 
first,  and  the  Bourbons  afterward,  were  pleased  with 
the  immense  patronage  which  it  gave  them,  They 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  149 

liked  to  have  one  hundred  thousand  dependents  to 
add  strength  to  the  throne,  which  had  been  recently 
constructed  or  reascended.  I  thought,  however,  that 
the  learned  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Finance 
must  have  had  some  other  besides  the  French  model 
for  his  receivers-general ;  and,  accordingly,  looking 
into  Smith's  history  of  his  own  State,  I  found  that, 
when  it  was  yet  a  colony,  some  century  and  a  half 
ago,  and  when  its  present  noble  capital  still  retained 
the  name  of  New  Amsterdam,  the  historian  says: 
*  Among  the  principal  laws  enacted  at  this  session,  we 
may  mention  that  for  establishing  the  revenue,  which 
was  drawn  into  precedent.  The  sums  raised  by  it 
were  made  payable  into  the  hands  of  receivers-gene- 
ral, and  issued  by  the  governor's  warrant.  By  this 
means  the  governor  became,  for  a  season,  independent 
of  the  people,  and  hence  we  find  frequent  instances 
of  the  assemblies  contending  with  him  for  the  dis- 
charge of  debts  to  private  persons,  contracted  on  the 
faith  of  the  government.'  The  then  governor  of  the 
colony  was  a  man  of  great  violence  of  temper,  and 
arbitrary  in  his  conduct.  How  the  Sub-treasury  sys- 
tem of  that  day  operated,  the  same  historian  informs 
us  in  a  subsequent  part  of  his  work:  'The  revenue,' 
he  says,  *  established  the  last  year,  was  at  this  session 
continued  five  years  longer  than  was  originally  in- 
tended. This  was  rendering  the  governor  independ- 
ent of  the  people.  For,  at  that  day,  the  assembly 
had  no  treasure,  but  the  amount  of  all  taxes  went,  of 
course,  into  the  hands  of  the  receiver-general,  who 
was  appointed  by  the  crown.  Out  of  this  fund,  mo- 
neys were  only  issuable  by  the  governor's  warrant,  so 
13* 


150  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

that  every  officer  in  the  government,  from  Mr.  Blaith- 
wait,  who  drew  annual!}'  five  per  centum  out  of  the 
revenue,  as  auditor-general,  down  to  the  meanest  ser 
vant  of  the  public,  became  dependent  solely  on  the 
governor.  -And  hence  we  find  the  House,  at  the  close 
of  every  session,  humbly  addressing  his  excellency 
for  the  trifling  wages  of  their  own  clerk.'  And,  Mr. 
President,  if  this  measure  should  unhappily  pass,  the 
day  may  come  when  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
will  have  humbly  to  implore  some  future  President 
of  the  United  States  to  grant  it  money  to  pay  the 
wages  of  its  own  sergeant-at-arms,  and  doorkeeper." 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  151 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Tire  CAMt*  <JN  or  1840 — NOMINATION*  or  CBN.  HARRISON  TO  THK  P»«- 

SIDENCT-  -HIS  ELECTION — HIS  DEATH — ACCESSION  OF  MR.  TYLER — 
MR.  CLAT  X  BILL  ON  THK  C.  S.  BANK — ITS  VETO  BY  PRES.  TYLER  •- 
MR.  CLAY  S  SPEECH  ON  THE  VETO  —  MR.  CLAY*S  VISIT  TO  HIS  BIRTH- 
PLACE— INCIDENTS  OF  THAT  OCCASION — MR.  CLAY  RESIGNS  HIS  SEAT 
IN  THE  SENATE — HIS  LETTER  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  KENTUCKY — 
HIS  ADDRESS  TO  THE  SENATE  ON  HIS  RESIGNATION  —  IMPRESSION 
PRODUCED  BY  IT. 

As  the  political  campaign  of  1840  approached,  the 
position  and  prospects  of  Mr.  Clay  were  regarded  with 
intense  interest  by  the  American  people.  None  could 
deny  that,  in  point  of  talents  and  experience  in  con- 
ducting the  affairs  of  Government,  he  had  no  equal, 
much  less  a  superior,  among  the  rival  statesmen  and 
heroes  of  the  time.  The  only  objection  against  him. 
which  seemed  to  possess  any  weight,  was  the  fact  that 
he  had  twice  before  been  nominated  for  the  Presidency, 
and  had  twice  been  defeated;  and  it  was  thought  that 
some  novus  homo,  unsullied  by  the  dust  and  sweat  of 
an  adverse  conflict,  would  be  more  available  in  con- 
ducting the  party  to  victor}'.  How  much  force  or 
reason  there  might  be  in  such  a  consideration,  we 
shall  not  undertake  to  determine;  but  it  unquestion- 
ably had  an  important  influence  with  the  members 
of  the  Democratic  Whig  Convention,  which  met  in 
Harrisburg  on  the  4th  of  December,  1839. 


152  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

When  that  body  assembled,  a  plurality  of  the  dele- 
gates were  personally  in  favor  of  Mr.  Clay  as  their 
nominee  for  the  Presidency.  But  after  a  full  compa- 
rison of  views,  it  was  ascertained  that  his  strength 
was  not  sufficient  to  secure  the  requisite  number  of 
votes;  and  Gen.  "W.  H.  Harrison,  the  hero  of  Tippe- 
canoe,  was  finally  chosen.  When  the  decision  of  tho 
Convention  became  known,  it  excited  much  disap- 
pointment among  many  of  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay 
throughout  the  nation;  but  he  himself,  with  his  usual 
tact  and  spirit  of  conciliation,  declared  his  full  acqui- 
escence in  the  will  of  those  who  had  been  chosen  to 
represent  the  party.  Said  he:  "Far  from  feeling  any 
discontent,  the  nomination  will  have  my  best  wishes, 
and  receive  my  cordial  support."  His  promise  was 
fulfilled,  and  he  exerted  himself  during  the  campaign 
which  followed,  and  which  was  one  of  the  most  ani- 
mated which  has  occurred  in  the  national  history,  to 
insure  the  victory  of  the  "Whigs.  General  Harrison 
was  elected  President,  John  Tyler,  of  Virginia,  Viee- 
President;  and  they  entered  upon  the  performance 
of  their  official  duties  on  March  4th,  1841. 

During  the  preceding  summer  Mr.  Clay  visited  the 
scene  of  his  birth  and  boyhood,  in  Hanover  County, 
Virginia.  Forty-five  years  had  elapsed  since  he  saw 
the  spot  with  which  his  earliest  recollections  were 
associated.  Then  he  had  quitted  it,  a  poor,  depend- 
ent, obscure  youth.  Now  he  returned  to  it,  an  illus- 
trious statesman,  whose  fame  extended  over  two 
hemispheres.  Then  his  future  fate  was  uncertain  ; 
misfortune  had  already  befallen  him  ;  and  he  left  be- 
hind him  the  grave  of  his  father.  Now  he  could 


OF    nESRT    CLAY.  153 

recur  to  a  long  series  of  years,  during  which  he  had 
held  the  most  brilliant  positions,  had  wielded  import- 
ant power  in  guiding  the  destiny  of  a  great  nation, 
and  had  achieved  a  series  of  intellectual  exploits 
which  attracted  the  warmest  admiration  of  millions. 
We  may  imagine,  but  cannot  describe,  the  intense  emo- 
tions which  filled  his  breast  while  he  surveyed  the 
well-remembered  spot;  while  he  visited  the  graves 
of  his  father  and  grandfather,  into  which,  during  hia 
boyhood,  he  had  seen  some  of  Tarleton's  soldiers 
running  their  swords,  under  the  suspicion  that  money 
was  hidden  therein.  He  found  everything  changed 
except  the  house  in  which  he  was  born.  Orchards 
and  forests  which  were  vigorous  and  flourishing  when 
last  he  saw  them,  had  wholly  disappeared.  A  favor- 
ite hickory  tree,  of  whose  fruit  he  had  so  often  eaten, 
and  whose  topmost  branches  he  had  so  often  scaled, 
in  the  adventurous  spirit  of  boyhood,  had  Jong  since 
passed  away.  All  reminded  him  of  the  transitory 
nature  of  human  things.  At  Taylorsville  his  friends 
entertained  him  at  a  public  dinner,  and  he  there  ad- 
dressed the  vast  multitude  who  thronged  to  see  and  hear 
the  distinguished  visitor.  He  departed  from  those 
scenes,  which  were  hallowed  by  such  associations  as  no 
other  spot  except  the  place  of  a  great  man's  birth  pos- 
sesses, highly  gratified  with  his  reception,  and  with  the 
sensations  excited  by  the  scenes  presented  to  his  view. 
During  the  session  of  Congress  which  preceded  the 
installation  of  General  Harrison,  Mr.  Clay  was  present 
in  the  Senate,  and  took  part  in  the  debates  which 
occurred  in  reference  to  the  land  bill,  the  repeal  of 
the  Sub-treasury,  the  Treasury  note  bill,  the  subject  of 


154  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

bankruptcy,  and  other  important  measures.  Imme- 
diately after  the  adjournment  of  Congress  on  the  3d 
of  March,  1841,  and  the  inauguration  of  the  new 
President,  the  latter  issued  a  proclamation  summon- 
ing an  extra  session  to  convene  on  the  last  Monday 
of  May.  Before  the  arrival  of  that  period,  and  after 
he  had  endured  the  dignities  and  toils  of  office  for  a 
month,  the  President  expired  on  the  4th  of  April ; 
and  John  Tyler  of  Virginia,  according  to  the  provi- 
sions of  the  Constitution,  assumed  the  office  thus  va- 
cated. Congress  convened  in  accordance  with  the 
summons  of  the  late  President,  and  entered  upon  the 
discussion  of  several  important  measures  of  public 
policy.  The  most  prominent  of  these  was  the  incor- 
poration of  a  national  bank  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
the  people  and  of  the  Government. 

Mr.  Clay  had  been  appointed  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Finance ;  and  he  proceeded  to  draw  up  a 
report  on  the  subject  which  thus  came  within  the 
legitimate  range  of  his  duties,  fh  the  beginning  of 
June  he  presented  his  report  containing  a  plan  for  a 
national  bank,  which  he  thought  unobjectionable. 
As  this  subject  is  one  of  great  and  permanent  interest 
to  every  American  citizen,  and  as  the  deliberate  and 
mature  views  of  such  a  man  in  reference  to  it  possess 
the  utmost  value,  it  will  be  well  to  introduce  here 
that  plan  of  a  national  bank  which  Mr.  Clay  regarded 
as  most  perfect,  and  as  adapted  to  produce  the  most 
beneficial  results  upon  the  financial  affairs  and  inte- 
rests of  the  nation.  It  was  as  follows: 

I.  The  capital  not  to  be  extravagantly  large,  but, 
at  the  same  time,  amply  sufficient  to  enable  it  to  per- 


OF    HEXfcY    CLAY.  155 

form  the  needful  financial  duties  for  the  Government; 
to  supply  a  general  currency  of  uniform  value  through- 
out the  Union  ;  and  to  facilitate,  as  nigh  as  practica- 
ble, the  equalization  of  domestic  exchange.  He  sup- 
posed that  about  fifty  millions  would  answer  all  those 
purposes.  The  stock  might  be  divided  between  the 
General  Government,  the  States,  according  to  their 
Federal  population,  and  individual  subscribers  —  the 
portion  assigned  to  the  latter  to  be  distributed  at  auc- 
tion, or  by  private  subscription. 

II.  The  corporation  to  receive  such  an  organization 
as  to  blend,  in  fair  proportions,  public  and  private 
control,  and  combining  public  and  private  interests  ; 
and,  in  order  to  exclude  the  possibility  of  the  exer- 
cise of  any  foreign  influence,  non-resident  foreigners 
to  be  prohibited  riot  only  from  any  share  in  the  ad- 
ministration-of  the  corporation,  but  from  holding, 
directly  or  indirectly,  any  portion  of  its  stock.     The 
bank   would   thus   be   in   its    origin,   and   continue 
throughout  its  whole  existence,  a  genuine  American 
institution. 

III.  An  adequate  portion  of  the  capital  to  be  set 
apart  in  productive  stocks,  and  placed  in  permanent 
security,  beyond  the  reach  of  the  corporation  (with 
the  exception  of  the  accruing  profits  on  those  stocks) 
sufficient  to  pay  promptly,  in  any  contingency,  the 
amount  of  all  such  paper,  under  whatever  form,  that 
the  bank  shall  put  forth  as  a  part  of  the  general  cir- 
culation.    The  bill  or  note-holders,  in  other  words,  the 
mass  of  the  community,  ought  to  be  protected  against 
the  possibility  of  the  failure  or  the  suspension  of  the 
bank.     The  supply  of  the  circulating  medium  of  a 


156  THE    LIFE    A?*!)    TIMES 

country  is  that  faculty  of  a  bank,  the  propriety  of  the 
exercise  of  which  may  be  most  controverted.  Tlio 
dealings  with  a  bank  of  those  who  obtain  discounts 
or  make  deposits,  are  voluntary  and  mutually  ad- 
vantageous; and  they  are  comparatively  few  in  num- 
ber. But  the  reception  of  what  is  issued  and  used  as 
a  part  of  the  circulating  medium  of  the  country,  is 
scarcely  a  voluntary  act;  and  thousands  take  it  who 
have  no  other  concern  whatever  with  the  bank.  The 
many  ought  to  be  guarded  and  secured  by  the  care 
of  the  legislative  authority  ;  the  vigilance  of  the  few 
will  secure  themselves  against  loss. 

IV.  Perfect  publicity  as  to  the  state  of  the  bank  at 
all  times,  including,  besides  the  usual  heads  of  infor- 
mation, the  names  of  every  debtor  to  the  bank,  whe- 
ther as  drawer,  endorser,  or  surety,  periodically  ex- 
bited,    and   open   to   public   inspection ;   or,   if  that 
should  be  found  inconvenient,  the  right  to  be  secured 
to  any  citizen  to  ascertain  at  the  bank  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  responsibility  of  any  of  its  customers. 
There  is  no  necessity  to  throw  any  veil  of  secrecy 
around  the  ordinary  transactions  of  a  bank.     Pub- 
licity will  increase  responsibility,  repress  favoritism, 
insure  the  negotiation  of  good  paper,  and,  when  in- 
dividual insolvency  unfortunately  occurs,  \\ill  deprive 
the  bank  of  undue  advantages  now  enjoyed  by  banks 
practically  in  the  distribution  of  the  effects  of  the  in- 
solvent. 

V.  A  limitation  of  the  dividends  so  as  not  to  au- 
thorize more  than per  cent,  to  be  struck.     This 

will  check  undue  expansions  in  the  medium,  and  re- 


OF    HKNRT     CLAY.  157 

strain  improper  extension  of  business  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  bank. 

VI.  A  prospective  reduction  in  the  rate  of  interest, 
BO  as  to  restrict  the  bank  to  six  per  cent,  simply,  or, 
if  practicable,  to  only  five  per  cent.     The  reduction 
may  be  effected  by  forbearing  to  exact  any  bonus,  or, 
when  the  profits  are  likely  to  exceed  the  prescribed 
limit  of  the  dividends,  by  requiring  the  rates  of  inte- 
rest shall  be  so  lowered  as  that  they  shall  not  pass 
that  limit. 

VII.  A  restriction  upon  the  premium  demanded 
upon  post-notes  and  checks  used  for  remittances,  so 
that  the  maximum  should  not  be  more  than  say  one 
and  a  half  per  cent  between  any  two  of  the  remotest 
points  in  the  Union.     Although  it  may  not  be  prac- 
ticable to  regulate  foreign  exchange,  depending  as  it 
does  upon  commercial  causes  not  within  the  control 
of  any  one  Government,  it  is  otherwise  with  regard 
to  domestic  exchange. 

VIII.  Every  practicable  provision  against  the  exer- 
cise of  improper  influence,  on  the  part  of  the  Execu- 
tive, upon  the  bank,  and,  on  the  part  of  the  bank, 
upon  the  elections  of  the  country.     The  people  enter- 
tain a  just  jealousy  against  the  danger  of  any  inter- 
ference of  a  bank  with  the  elections  of  a  country, 
and  every  precaution  ought  to  be  taken  strictly  to 
guard  against  it. 

The  bill  presented  by  Mr.  Clay  was  passed,  after  a 
thorough  discussion,  and  sent  to  the  President  for  his 
approval.  He  returned  it  immediately  with  his  veto. 
This  act  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  then  became  the 
legitimate  subject  of  discussion,  in  the  Senate ;  and 
14 


THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

on  it  Mr.  Clay  delivered  one  of  his  ablest  speeches. 
It  wa*  a  memorable  display  of  cogent  argument  and 
indignant  eloquence  —  the  spirit  and  power  of  which 
the  following  extracts  will  furnish  an  exhibition  : 

"If  it  were  possible  to  disinter  the  venerated  re- 
mains of  James  Madison,  reanimate  his  perishing 
form,  and  place  him  once  more  in  that  chair  of  state 
which  he  so  much  adorned,  what  would  have  been 
his  course,  if  this  bill  had  been  presented  to  him, 
even  supposing  him  never  to  have  announced  his  ac- 
quiescence in  the  settled  judgment  of  the  nation  ? 
He  would  have  said,  that  human  controversy,  in  re- 
gard to  a  single  question,  should  not  be  perpetual, 
and  ought  to  have  a  termination.  This,  about  the 
power  to  establish  a  Bank  of  the  United  States,  baa 
been  long  enough  continued.  The  nation,  under  all 
the  forms  of  its  public  action,  has  often  and  delibe- 
rately decided  it.  A  bank,  and  associated  financial 
and  currency  questions  which  had  long  slept,  were 
revived,  and  have  divided  the  nation  during  the  last 
ten  years  of  arduous  and  bitter  struggle ;  and  the 
party  which  put  down  the  bank,  and  which  occa- 
sioned all  the  disorders  in  our  currency  and  finances, 
lias  itself  been  signally  put  down  by  one  of  those 
great  moral  and  political  revolutions  which  a  free,  a 
patriotic  people,  can  but  seldom  arouse  itself  to  make. 
Human  infallibility  has  not  been  granted  by  God; 
and  the  chances  of  error  are  much  greater  on  the 
side  of  one  man,  than  on  that  of  the  majority  of  a 
whole  people  and  their  successive  Legislatures,  dur- 
ing a  long  period  of  time.  I  yield  to  the  irresistible 
force  of  authority.  I  will  not  put  myself  in  opposi- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  159 

tion  to  a  measure  so  imperatively  demanded  by  the 
public  voice,  and  so  essential  to  elevate  my  depressed 
and  suffering  countrymen. 

"And  why  should  not  President  Tyler  have  suf- 
fered the  bill  to  become  a  law  without  his  signature? 
Without  meaning  the  slightest  possible  disrespect  to 
him  (nothing  is  further  from  my  heart  than  the  exhi- 
bition of  any  such  feeling  toward  that  distinguished 
citizen,  long  my  personal  friend),  it  cannot  be  for- 
gotten that  he  came  into  his  present  office  under 
peculiar  circumstances.  The  people  did  not  foresee 
the  contingency  which  has  happened.  They  voted 
for  him  as  Vice-President.  They  did  not,  therefore, 
scrutinize  his.  opinions  with  the  care  which  they 
probably  ought  to  have  done,  and  would  have  done, 
if  they  could  have  looked  into  futurity.  If  the  pre- 
sent state  of  the  fact  could  have  been  anticipated — » 
if  at  Harrisburg,  or  at  the  polls,  it  had  been  fore- 
seen that  General  Harrison  would  die  in  one  short 
month  after  the  commencement  of  his  administra- 
tion ;  that  Vice-President  Tyler  would  be  elevated 
to  the  Presidential  chair;  that  a  bill,  passed  by  deci- 
sive majorities  of  the  first  Whig  Congress,  chartering 
a  national  bank,  would  be  presented  for  his  sanction, 
and  that  he  would  veto  the  bill,  do  I  hazard  any- 
thing when  I  express  the  conviction,  that  he  would 
not  have  received  a  solitary  vote  in  the  nominating 
convention,  nor  one  solitary  electoral  vote  in  any 
State  in  the  Union  ? 

"  Shall  I  be  told  that  the  honor,  the  firmness,  the  in- 
dependence of  the  chief  magistrate  might  have  been 
drawn  in  question  if  he  had  remained  passive,  aud  so 


160  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

permitted  the  bill  to  become  a  law?  I  answer,  that 
the  office  of  chief  magistrate  is  a  sacred  and  exalted 
trust,  created  and  conferred  for  the  benefit  of  the 
nation,  and  not  for  the  private  advantage  of  the 
person  who  fills  it.  Can  any  man's  reputation  for 
firmness,  independence,  and  honor,  be  of  more  im- 
portance than  the  welfare  of  a  great  people  ?  There 
is  nothing,  in  my  humble  judgment,  in  such  a  course, 
incompatible  with  honor,  with  firmness,  with  inde- 
pendence, properly  understood.  Certainly,  I  most 
respectfully  think,  in  reference  to  a  measure  like  this, 
recommended  by  such  high  sanctions  —  by  five  Con- 
gresses, by  the  authority  of  four  Presidents,  by  re- 
peated decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court,  by  the  ac- 
quiescence and  judgment  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  during  long  periods  of  time,  by  its  salutary 
operation  on  the  interests  of  the  community  for  a 
space  of  forty  years,  and  demanded  by  the  people 
whose  suffrages  placed  President  Tyler  in  that  second 
office,  whence  he  was  translated  to  the  first,  that  he 
might  have  suppressed  the  promptings  of  all  personal 
pride  of  private  opinion,  if  any  arose  in  his  bosom, 
and  yielded  to  the  wishes  and  wants  of  his  country. 
Nor  do  I  believe  that,  in  such  a  course,  lie  would  have 
made  the  smallest  sacrifice,  in  a  just  sense,  of  personal 
honor,  firmness,  or  independence. 

"But,  sir,  there  was  still  a  third  alternative,  to 
which  I  allude,  not  because  I  mean  to  intimate  that 
it  should  be  embraced,  but  because  I  am  reminded  of 
it  by  a  memorable  event  in  the  life  of  President 
Tyler.  It  will  be  recollected  that,  after  the  Senate 
had  passed  the  resolutions  declaring  the  removal  of 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  161 

the  public  deposits  from  the  late  Bank  of  the  United 
States  to  have  been  derogatory  to  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  United  States,  for  which  resolution 
President,  then  Senator  Tyler,  had  voted,  the  General 
Assembly  of  Virginia  instructed  the  Senators  from 
that  State  to  vote  for  the  expunging  of  that  resolution. 
Senator  Tyler  declined  voting  in  conformity  with  that 
instruction,  and  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  oi  the 
United  States.  This  he  did  because  he  could  not 
conform,  and  did  not  think  it  right  to  go  counter  to 
the  wishes  of  those  who  had  placed  him  in  the  Senate. 
If,  when  the  people  of  Virginia,  or  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Virginia,  were  his  only  constituency,  he 
would  not  set  up  his  own  particular  opinion,  in  oppo- 
sition to  theirs,  what  ought  to  be  the  rule  of  his  con- 
duct when  the  people  of  twenty-six  States  —  a  whole 
nation — compose  his  constituency?  Is  the  will  of  the 
constituency  of  one  State  to  be  respected,  and  that  of 
twenty-six  to  be  wholly  disregarded  ?  Is  obedience 
due  only  to  the  single  State  of  Virginia?  The  Presi- 
dent admits  that  the  bank  question  deeply  agitated, 
and  continues  to  agitate  the  nation.  It  is  incontest- 
able that  it  was  the  great,  absorbing,  and  controlling 
question  in  all  our  recent  divisions  and  exertions.  I 
arn  firmly  convinced,  and  it  is  my  deliberate  judg- 
ment, that  an  immense  majority,  not  less  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  nation,  desire  such  an  institution.  All 
doubts  in  this  respect  ought  to  be  dispelled  by  the 
recent  decisions  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress.  I 
speuk  of  them  as  evidence  of  popular  opinion.  In 
the  House  of  Representatives  the  majority  was  one 
hundred  and  thirty-one  to  one  hundred.  If  the  House 
14*  L 


162  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

had  been  full,  and  but  for  the  modification  of  the  six- 
teenth fundamental  condition,  there  would  have  been 
a  probable  majority  of  forty-seven.  Is  it  to  be  be- 
lieved that  this  large  majority  of  the  immediate  re- 
presentatives of  the  people,  fresh  from  among  them, 
and  to  whom  the  President  seemed  inclined,  in  his 
opening  message,  to  refer  this  very  question,  havo 
mistaken  the  wishes  of  their  constituents?" 

Mr.  Rives  of  Virginia  undertook  to  reply  to  this 
argument  of  Mr.  Clay.  After  the  conclusion  of  his 
speech,  it  was  not  the  purpose  of  the  Kentucky  sena- 
tor to  respond,  as  he  had  already  given  utterance  to 
all  he  had  intended  to  say  on  the  subject,  and  had 
taken  no  notes  of  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Rives.  Mr. 
Clay  was,  however,  requested  to  address  the  Senate 
again ;  he  complied ;  and  in  doing  so  delivered  one* 
of  the  most  eloquent  outbursts  ever  heard  in  that 
chamber.  Its  concluding  torrent,  worthy  of  the  best 
days  and  the  noblest  efforts  of  Cicero,  was  as  follows: 

"I  have  no  desire,"  said  Mr.  Clay,  "to  prolong 
this  unpleasant  discussion  ;  but  I  must  say  that  I 
heard  with  great  surprise  and  regret  the  closing  re- 
mark, especially,  of  the  honorable  gentleman  from 
Virginia,  as,  indeed,  I  did  many  of  those  which  pre- 
ceded it.  That  gentleman  stands  in  a  peculiar  situa- 
tion. I  found  him  several  years  ago  in  the  half-way 
house,  where  he  seems  afraid  to  remain,  and  from 
which  he  is  yet  unwilling  to  go.  I  had  thought,  after 
the  thorough  riddling  which  the  roof  of  the  house 
had  received  in  the  breaking  up  of  the  pet-bank 
Bystem,  lie  would  have  fled  somewhere  else  for  refuge; 
but  there  he  still  stands,  solitary  and  alone,  shivering 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  163 

and  pelted  by  the  pitiless  storm.  The  Sub-treasury 
is  repealed;  the  pet-bank  system  is  abandoned;  the 
United  States  Bank  bill  is  vetoed;  and  now,  when 
there  is  as  complete  and  perfect  a  reunion  of  the  purso 
and  the  sword  in  the  hands  of  the  executive  as  ever 
there  was  under  General  Jackson  or  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
the  Senator  is  for  doing  nothing!  The  Senator  is  for 
going  home,  leaving  the  Treasury  and  the  country  in 
their  lawless  condition  !  Yet  no  man  has  heretofore, 
more  than  he  has,  deplored  arid  deprecated  a  state  of 
things  so  utterly  unsafe,  and  repugnant  to  all  just 
precautions,  indicated  alike  by  sound  theory  and  ex- 
perience in  free  governments.  And  the  Senator  talks 
to  us  about  applying  to  the  wisdom  of  practical  men, 
in  respect  to  banking,  and  advises  further  delibera- 
tion !  Why,  I  should  suppose  that  we  are  at  present 
in  the  very  best  situation  to  act  upon  the  subject. 
Besides  the  many  painful  years  we  have  had  for  de- 
liberation, we  have  been  near  three  months  almost  ex- 
clusively engrossed  with  the  very  subject  itself.  We 
have  heard  all  manner  of  facts,  statements,  and  argu 
ments,  in  any  way  connected  with  it.  We  under- 
stand, it  seems  to  me,  all  we  ever  can  learn  or  com- 
prehend about  a  national  bank.  And  we  have,  at 
least,  some  conception  too  of  what  sort  of  one  will  be 
acceptable  at  the  other  end  of  the  avenue.  Yet  now, 
with  a  vast  majority  of  the  people  of  the  entire  coun- 
try crying  out  to  us  for  a  bank ;  with  the  people 
throughout  the  whole  valley  of  the  Mississippi  rising 
in  their  majesty,  and  demanding  it  as  indispensable 
to  their  well-being,  and  pointing  to  their  losses,  their 
sacrifices,  and  their  sufferings,  for  the  want  of  such 


164  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMER 

an  institution  :  in  such  a  state  of  things,  we  nre 
gravely  and  coldly  told  l>y  the  honorable  Senator  from 
Virginia,  that  we  had  best  go  home,  leaving  the  purse 
and  the  sword  in  the  uncontrolled  possession  of  the 
President,  and,  above  all  things,  never  to  make  a 
party  bank!  Why,  sir,  does  he,  with  all  his  know- 
ledge of  the  conflicting  opinions  which  prevail  here, 
and  have  prevailed,  believe  that  we  ever  can  make  a 
bank  but  by  the  votes  of  one  party  who  are  in  favor 
of  it,  in  opposition  to  the  votes  of  another  party 
against  it?  I  deprecate  this  expression  of  opinion 
from  that  gentleman  the  more,  because,  although  the 
honorable  Senator  professes  not  to  know  the  opinions 
of  the  President,  it  certainly  does  turn  out  in  the 
sequel,  that  there  is  a  most  remarkable  coincidence 
between  those  opinions  and  his  own  ;  and  he  has,  on 
the  present  occasion,  defended  the  motives  and  the 
course  of  the  President  with  all  the  solicitude  and  all 
the  fervent  zeal  of  a  member  of  his  privy  council. 
There  is  a  rumor  abroad,  that  a  cabal  exists  —  a  new 
sort  of  kitchen  cabinet  —  whose  object  is  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  regular  cabinet,  the  dissolution  of  the 
Whig  party,  the  dispersion  of  Congress  without  ac- 
complishing any  of  the  great  purposes  of  the  extra 
session,  and  a  total  change,  in  fact,  in  the  whole  face 
of  our  political  affairs.  I  hope,  and  I  persuade  my- 
self, that  the  honorable  Senator  is  not,  can  not  be,  one 
of  the  component  members  of  such  a  cabal;  but  I 
must  say,  that  there  has  been  displayed  by  the  honor- 
able Senator  to-day,  a  predisposition,  astonishing  and 
inexplicable,  to  misconceive  almost  all  of  what  I  have 
Baid,  and  a  perseverance,  after  repeated  corrections, 


OF    HENRY    CLAT.  165 

in  misunderstanding — for  I  will  not  charge  him  with 
wilfully  and  intentionally  misrepresenting — the  whole 
spirit  and  character  of  the  address  which,  as  a  man 
of  honor  and  as  a  Senator,  I  felt  myself  bound  in 
duty  to  make  to  this  body. 

"The  Senator  begins  with  saying  that  I  charge  the 
President  with  'perfidy?'  Did  I  use  any  such  lan- 
guage ?  I  appeal  to  every  gentleman  who  heard  me, 
to  say  whether  I  have,  in  a  single  instance,  gone  be- 
yond a  fair  and  legitimate  examination  of  the  Execu- 
tive objections  to  the  bill.  Yet  he  has  charged  me 
with  'arraigning' the  President,  with  indicting  him 
in  various  counts,  and  with  imputing  to  him  motives 
such  as  I  never  even  intimated  or  dreamed  ;  and  that, 
when  I  was  constantly  expressing,  over  and  over,  my 
personal  respect  and  regard  for  President  Tyler,  for 
whom  I  have  cherished  an  intimate  personal  friend- 
ship of  twenty  years'  standing,  and  while  I  expressly 
said,  that  if  that  friendship  should  now  be  inter- 
rupted, it  should  not  be  my  fault !  Why,  sir,  what 
possible,  what  conceivable  motive  can  I  have  to  quar- 
rel with  the  President,  or  to  break  up  the  Whig 
party  ?  What  earthly  motive  can  impel  me  to  wish 
for  any  other  result  than  that  that  party  shall  remain 
in  perfect  harmony,  undivided,  and  shall  move  undis- 
mayed, boldly  and  unitedly  forward  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  all-important  public  objects  which  it 
has  avowed  to  be  its  aim  ?  What  imaginable  interest 

ty 

or  feeling  can  I  have  other  than  the  success,  the 
triumph,  the  glory  of  the  Whig  party?  But  that 
there  may  be  designs  and  purposes  on  the  part  of  cer- 
tain other  individuals  to  place  me  in  inimical  rela- 


166  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

tions  with  the  President,  and  to  represent  me  as  per- 
son ally  opposed  to  him,  I  can  well  imagine  —  indi- 
viduals who  are  heating  up  for  recruits,  and  endea- 
voring to  form  a  third  party,  with  materials  so  scanty 
as  to  be  wholly  insufficient  to  compose  a  decent  cor- 
poral's guard." 

Mr.  Clay  had  expressed  his  intention  to  resign  his 
seat  in  the  Senate,  and  to  retire  from  public  life,  as 
early  as  November,  1840.  After  the  death  of  Gene- 
ral Harrison,  and  the  accession  of  Mr.  Tyler,  he  had 
deferred  the  execution  of  his  purpose,  in  order  to 
carry  through  the  several  measures  to  which  we  have 
already  adverted.  He  had  been  entirely  disappointed 
in  the  policy  pursued  by  President  Tyler,  with  whom, 
at  the  commencement  of  his  administration,  he  had 
been  on  the  most  friendly  terms.  He  frequently 
visited  him  at  the  "White  House,"  dined  with  him, 
and  held  consultations  with  him  on  public  affairs. 
On  these  occasions  Mr.  Tyler  assured  him  that  he  had 
formed  no  opinions  adverse  to  a  national  bank;  and 
therefore  when  the  bill  to  establish  such  an  institu- 
tion was  vetoed  by  the  President,  the  blow  was  un- 
expected by  Nr.  Clay,  and  very  naturally  alienated 
him  from  his  former  friend.  He  now  determined  to 
execute  his  purpose  of  withdrawing  from  the  Senate. 
On  the  16th  of  February,  1842,  he  sent  the  following 
letter  of  resignation  to  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky  : 

u  When  I  last  had  the  honor  of  an  appointment  as 
one  of  the  United  States  Senators  from  Kentucky,  I 
intimated,  in  my  letter  of  acceptance,  the  probability 
of  my  not  serving  out  the  whole  term  of  six  years. 
In  consequence  of  there  having  been  two  extra  sea- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  167 

gions  of  Congress,  I  have  already  attended,  since  that 
appointment,  as  many  sessions  of  Congress  as  ordi- 
narily happen  during  a  Senatorial  term,  without  esti- 
mating my  services  at  the  present  session. 

"  I  have  for  several  years  desired  to  retire  to  pri- 
vate life,  but  have  been  hitherto  prevented  from 
executing  my  wish  from  considerations  of  public 
duty.  I  should  have  resigned  my  seat  in  the  Senate 
at  the  commencement  of  the  present  session,  but  for 
several  reasons,  one  of  which  was,  that  the  General 
Assembly  did  not  meet  until  near  a  month  after 
Congress,  during  which  time  the  State  would  not 
have  been  full}-  represented,  or  my  successor  would 
have  had  only  the  uncertain  title  of  an-  Executive  ap- 
pointment. 

"  The  time  has  now  arrived  when  I  think  that, 
without  any  just  reproach,  I  may  quit  the  public  ser- 
vice, and  bestow  some  attention  on  my  private  affairs, 
which  have  suffered  much  by  the  occupation  of  the 
largest  portion  of  my  life  in  the  public  councils.  If 
the  Roman  veteran  had  title  to  discharge  after  thirty 
years'  service,  I,  who  have  served  a  much  longer  pe- 
riod, may  justly  claim  mine. 

"I  beg  leave,  therefore,  to  tender  to  the  General 
Assembly,  and  do  now  hereby  tender,  my  resigna- 
tion of  the  office  which  I  hold,  of  Senator  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  from  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky, to  take  effect  on  the  31st  of  March,  1842 ;  and 
1  request  that  the  General  Assembly  will  appoint  my 
successor  to  take  his  seat  on  that  day.  I  have  fixed 
that  duy  to  allow  me  an  opportunity  of  assisting  in 


i  48  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

tne  ompletion  of  some  measures  which  have  been 
originated  by  me. 

"I  embrace  this  opportunity  to  offer  to  the  Gene- 
rnl  Assembly  my  most  profound  and  grateful  ac- 
knowledgments for  the  numerous  and  distinguished 
proofs  by  which  I  have  been  honored,  of  its  warm 
attachment  and  generous  confidence,  during  a  long 
series  of  years." 

On  the  31st  of  March,  1842,  Mr.  Clay  formally  an- 
nounced  to  the  Senate  the  resignation  of  his  seat,  and 
took  leave  of  that  body  in  a  speech  of  great  beauty 
and  pathos.  He  thought  the  withdrawal  was  his 
last,  and  that  he  should  never  more  appear  in  that 
chamber  which  had  been  the  scene  of  so  many 
triumphs  and  forensic  splendors  on  his  part.  His 
purpose  had  become  known  to  the  public;  and  the 
hall  and  adjacent  passages  were  crowded  on  the  occa- 
sion with  an  audience  of  both  sexes,  such  as  rarely 
graced  the  efforts  of  an  orator,  even  at  the  seat  of  the 
Federal  Government.  He  arose  for  the  purpose 
ostensibly  of  presenting  the  credentials  of  Mr.  Crit- 
tenden,  his  successor,  as  Senator  from  Kentucky. 
On  no  occasion,  during  his  long  public  career,  did  he 
acquit  himself  with  more  ability  and  success  than  in 
the  execution  of  this  difficult  and  delicate  task.  Dur- 
ing the  delivery  of  the  remarks  which  followed  the 
presentation  of  the  credentials,  the  sympathies  of  his 
hearers  became  deeply  affected ;  and  many  eyes,  un- 
used to  melting  moods,  were  suffused  with  tears, 
while  the  aged  and  eloquent  statesman  described, 
with  that  graceful  easy  dignity,  and  with  that  melli- 
fluous sweetness  of  tone,  which  have  been  equalled 


OF    HENRY    CLAT.  169 

by  no  orator  ancient  or  modern, — his  long  and  ardu- 
ous career,  the  memorable  scenes  he  had  witnessed, 
and  in  which  he  had  participated,  connected  with  the 
nation's  history ;  and  then  expressed  his  intention  to 
withdraw  from  that  arena  to  private  life,  and  uttered 
his  best  wishes  for  the  welfare  of  his  late  associates, 
his  hearers  and  his  countrymen.  The  conclusion  of 
this  remarkable  oration  was  as  follows : 

"During  that  long  period,  however,  I  have  not 
escaped  the  fate  of  other  public  men,  nor  failed  to  in- 
cur censure  and  detraction  of  the  bitterest,  most  un- 
relenting, and  most  malignant  character;  and  though 
not  always  insensible  to  the  pain  it  was  meant  to  in- 
flict, I  have  borne  it  in  general  with  composure,  and 
without  disturbance  here  [pointing  to  his  breast], 
waiting  aa  I  have  done,  in  perfect  and  undoubting 
confidence,  for  the  ultimate  triumph  of  justice  and  of 
truth,  and  in  the  entire  persuasion  that  time  would 
settle  all  things  as  they  should  be,  and  that  whatever 
wrong  or  injustice  I  might  experience  at  the  hands 
of  man,  He,  to  whom  all  hearts  are  open  and  fully 
known,  would,  by  the  inscrutable  dispensations  of  His 
providence,  rectify  all  error,  redress  all  wrong,  and 
cause  ample  justice  to  be  done. 

"But  I  have  not  meanwhile  been  unsustained. 
Everywhere  throughout  the  extent  of  this  great  con 
tinent  I  have  had  cordial,  warm-hearted,  faithful,  and 
devoted  friends,  who  have  known  me,  loved  me,  and 
appreciated  my  motives.  To  them,  if  language  were 
capable  of  fully  expressing  my  acknowledgments,  I 
would  now  oft'er  all  the  return  I  have  the  power  to 
make  for  their  genuine,  disinterested,  and  persevering 
15 


170  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

fidelit}1  and  devoted  attachment,  the  feelings  and  sen- 
timents of  a  heart  overflowing  with  never-ceasing 
gratitude.  If,  however,  I  fail  in  suitable  language  to 
express  my  gratitude  to  them  for  all  the  kindness  they 
have  shown  to  me,  what  shall  I  say,  what  can  I  say 
at  all  commensurate  with  those  feelings  of  gratitude 
with  which  I  have  been  inspired  by  the  State  whose 
humble  representative  and  servant  I  have  been  in  this 
chamber?  [Here  Mr.  Clay's  feelings  overpowered 
him,  and  he  proceeded  with  deep  sensibility  and  diffi- 
cult utterance.] 

"  I  emigrated  from  Virginia  to  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky now  nearly  forty-five  years  ago;  I  went  as  an 
orphan  boy  who  had  not  yet  attained  the  age  of  ma- 
jority— who  had  never  recognized  a  father's  smile, 
nor  felt  his  warm  caresses  —  poor,  penniless,  without 
the  favor  of  the  great  —  with  an  imperfect  and  ne- 
glected education,  hardly  sufficient  for  the  ordinary 
business  and  common  pursuits  of  life;  but  scarce  had 
I  set  my  foot  upon  her  generous  soil,  when  I  was  em- 
braced with  parental  fondness,  caressed  as  though  I 
had  been  a  favorite  child,  and  patronized  with  liberal 
and  unbounded  munificence.  From  that  period  the 
highest  honors  of  the  State  have  been  freely  bestowed 
upon  me;  and  when,  in  the  darkest  hour  of  calumny 
and  detraction,  I  seemed  to  be  assailed  by  all  the  rest 
of  the  world,  she  interposed  her  broad  and  impene- 
trable shield,  repelled  the  poisoned  shafts  that  were 
aimed  for  my  destruction,  and  vindicated  my  good 
name  from  every  malignant  and  unfounded  asper- 
sion. I  return  wTith  indescribable  pleasure  to  linger 
awhile  longer,  and  mingle  with  the  warm-hearted  and 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  171 

whole-souled  people  of  that  State ;  and,  when  the  last 
scene  shall  forever  close  upon  me,  I  hope  that  my 
earthly  remains  will  be  laid  under  her  green  sod  with 
those  of  her  gallant  and  patriotic  sons. 

''  But  the  ingenuity  of  my  assailants  is  never  ex- 
hausted.    It  seems  I  have  subjected  myself  to  a  new 
epithet,  which  I  do  not  know  whether  to  take  in 
honor  or  derogation ;  I  am  held  up  to  the  country  as 
a  '  dictator.'     A  dictator !     The  idea  of  a  dictatorship 
is  drawn  from  Roman  institutions ;  and  at  the  time 
the  office  was  created,  the  person  who  wielded  the 
tremendous  weight  of  authority  it  conferred,  concen- 
trated in  his  own  person  an  absolute  power  over  the 
lives  and  property  of  all  his  fellow-citizens;  he  could 
levy  armies ;    he  could  build  and  man  navies ;   he 
could  raise  any  amount  of  revenue  he  might  choose 
to  demand  ;  and  life  and  death  rested  on  his  fiat.     If 
I  were  a  dictator,  as  I  am  said  to  be,  where  is  the 
power  with  which  I  am  clothed?     Have  I  any  army  ? 
any  navy?  any  revenue?  any  patronage?  in  a  word, 
any  power  whatever?     If  I  had  been  a  dictator,  I 
think  that  even  those  who  have  the  most  freely  ap- 
plied to  me  the  appellation,  must  be  compelled  to 
make  two  admissions :  first,  that  my  dictatorship  has 
been  distinguished  by  no  cruel  executions,  stained  by 
no  blood,  sullied  by  no  act  of  dishonor;  and  I  think 
they  must  also  own  (though  I  do  not  exactly  know 
what  date  my  commission  of  dictator  bears  —  I  sup- 
pose, however,  it  must  have  commenced  with  the  ex- 
tra session),  that  if  I  did  usurp  the  power  of  a  dictator, 
I  at  least  voluntarily  surrendered  it  within  a  shorter 


172  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

period  than  was  allotted  for  the  duration  of  the  dic- 
tatorship of  the  Roman  con  im  on  wealth. 

"If  to  have  sought  at  the  extra  session  and  at  the 
present,  by  the  co-operation  of  rny  friends,  to  carry 
out  the  great  measures  intended  by  the  popular  ma- 
jority of  1840,  and  to  have  earnestly  wished  that  they 
should  all  have  been  adopted  and  executed;  if  to 
have  ardently  desired  to  see  a  disordered  currency 
regulated  and  restored,  and  irregular  exchanges  equal- 
ized and  adjusted  ;  if  to  have  labored  to  replenish  the 
empty  coffers  of  the  treasury  by  suitable  duties;  if  to 
have  endeavored  to  extend  relief  to  the  unfortunate 
bankrupts  of  the  country,  who  had  been  ruined  in  a 
great  measure  by  the  erroneous  policy,  as  we  be- 
lieved, of  this  Government;  to  limit,  circumscribe, 
and  reduce  Executive  authority;  to  retrench  unne- 
cessary expenditure  and  abolish  useless  offices  and 
institutions,  and  to  preserve  the  public  honor  untar- 
nished by  supplying  a  revenue  adequate  to  meet  the 
national  engagements,  and  incidental  protection  to 
the  national  industry;  if  to  have  entertained  an  anx- 
ious solicitude  to  redeem  every  pledge,  and  execute 
every  promise  fairly  made  by  my  political  friends, 
with  a  view  to  the  acquisition  of  power  from  the 
hands  of  an  honest  and  confiding  people ;  if  these 
constitute  a  man  a  DICTATOR,  why,  then,  I  must  be 
content  to  bear,  although  I  still  ought  only  to  share 
with  my  friends  the  odium  or  the  honor  of  the  epi- 
thet, as  it  may  be  considered  ou  the  one  hand  or  the 
other. 

"That  my  nature  is  warm,  my  temper  ardent,  my 
disposition,  especially  in  relation  to  the  public  ser- 


OF    IIEXK'T    CLAY.  173 

vice,  enthusiastic,  I  am  ready  to  own  ;  and  those  who 
suppose  that  I  have  been  assuming  the  dictatorship, 
have  only  mistaken  for  arrogance  or  assumption  that 
ardor  and  devotion  which  are  natural  to  my  constitu- 
tion, and  which  I  may  have  displayed  with  too  little 
regard  to  cold,  calculating,  and  cautious  prudence,  iu. 
sustaining  and  zealously  supporting  important  na- 
tional measures  of  policy  which  I  have  presented  and 
espoused. 

"  In  the  course  of  a  long  and  arduous  public  ser- 
vice, especially  during  the  last  eleven  years  in  which 
I  have  held  a  seat  in  the  Senate,  from  the  same  ardor 
and  enthusiasm  of  character,  I  have  no  doubt,  in  the 
heat  of  debate,  and  in  an  honest  endeavor  to  main- 
tain my  opinions  against  adverse  opinions  alike 
honestly  entertained,  as  to  the  best  course  to  be 
adopted  for  the  public  welfare,  I  may  have  often  in- 
advertently and  unintentionally,  in  moments  of  ex- 
cited debate,  made  use  of  language  that  has  been 
offensive,  and  susceptible  of  injurious  interpretation 
toward  my  brother  Senators.  If  there  be  any  here 
who  retain  wounded  feelings  of  injury  or  dissatisfac- 
tion produced  on  such  occasions,  I  beg  to  assure  them 
that  I  now  offer  the  most  ample  apology  for  any  de- 
parture on  my  part  from  the  established  rules  of  par- 
liamentary decorum  and  courtesy.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  assure  Senators,  one  and  all,  without  excep- 
tion and  without  reserve,  that  I  retire  from  this  cham- 
ber without  carrying  with  me  a  single  feeling  of  re- 
sentment or  dissatisfaction  to  the  Senate  or  any  one 
of  its  members. 

"I  go  from  this  place  under  the  hope  that  we  shall, 
15* 


174  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

mutually,  consign  to  perpetual  oblivion  whatever  per- 
sonal collisions  may  at  any  time  unfortunately  have 
occurred  between  us;  and  that  our  recollections  shall 
dwell  in  future  only  on  those  conflicts  of  mind  with 
mind,  those  intellectual  struggles,  those  noble  exhi- 
bitions of  the  powers  of  logic,  argument,  and  elo- 
quence, honorable  to  the  Senate  and  to  the  nation,  in 
which  each  has  sought  and  contended  for  what  he 
deemed  the  best  mode  of  accomplishing  one  common 
object,  the  interest  and  the  most  happiness  of  our 
beloved  country.  To  these  thrilling  and  delightful 
scenes  it  will  be  my  pleasure  and  my  pride  to  look 
back  in  my  retirement  with  unmeasured  satisfaction. 

"And  now,  Mr.  President,  allow  me  to  make  the 
motion  which  it  was  my  object  to  submit  when  I  rose 
to  address  you.  I  present  the  credentials  of  my  friend 
and  successor  [Hon.  J.  J.  Crittenden].  If  any  void 
has  been  created  by  my  withdrawal  from  the  Senate, 
it  will  be  amply  filled  by  him,  whose  urbanity,  whose 
gallant  and  gentlemanly  bearing,  whose  steady  ad- 
herence to  principle,  and  whose  rare  and  accom- 
plished powers  in  debate,  are  known  to  the  Senate 
and  to  the  country.  I  move  that  his  credentials  be 
received,  and  that  the  oath  of  office  be  now  admin- 
istered to  him. 

"  In  retiring,  as  I  am  about  to  do,  for  ever,  from  the 
Senate,  suffer  me  to  express  my  heartfelt  wishes  that 
all  the  great  and  patriotic  objects  of  the  wise  framers 
of  our  Constitution  may  be  fulfilled ;  that  the  high 
destiny  designed  for  it  may  be  fully  answered ;  and 
that  its  deliberations,  now  and  hereafter,  may  even- 
tuate in  securing  the  prosperity  of  our  beloved  coun- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  175 

try,  in  maintaining  its  rights  and  honor  abroad,  and 
upholding  its  interests  at  home.  I  retire,  I  know,  at 
a  period  of  infinite  distress  and  embarrassment.  I 
wish  I  could  take  my  leave  of  you  under  more  favor- 
able auspices ;  but,  without  meaning  at  this  time  to 
say  whether  on  any  or  on  whom  reproaches  for  the 
ead  condition  of  the  country  should  fall,  I  appeal  to 
the  Senate  and  to  the  world  to  bear  testimony  to  my 
earnest  and  continued  exertions  to  avert  it,  and  to  the 
truth  that  no  blame  can  justly  attach  to  me. 

"  May  the  most  precious  blessings  of  Heaven  rest 
upon  the  whole  Senate  and  each  member  of  it,  and 
may  the  labors  of  every  one  redound  to  the  benefit 
of  the  nation  and  the  advancement  of  his  own  fame 
and  renown.  And  when  you  shall  retire  to  the  bosom 
of  your  constituents,  may  you  receive  that  most 
cheering  and  gratifying  of  all  human  rewards — their 
cordial  greeting  of  'Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant.' 

"And  now,  Mr.  President,  and  Senators,  I  bid  you 
all  a  long,  a  lasting,  and  a  friendly  farewell." 


176  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MR.  CLAY'S  RETURN  TO  PRIVATE  LIFE  —  THE  LEXINGTON  BARBECUE  — 
HIS  SPEECH  ON  THIS  OCCASION — HIS  TISIT  TO  RICHMOND,  INDIANA 
— INCIDENT  IN  REFERENCE  TO  THE  SLAVERY  QUESTION — HIS  SPEECH 
ON  THIS  OCCASION  —  HIS  ArISIT  TO  DAYTON,  OHIO  —  HIS  JOURNEY  TO 
THE  SOUTH-EASTERN  STATES  —  ENTHUSIASTIC  RECEPTIONS  DURING 
THE  PROGRESS  OF  HIS  JOURNEY — HE  SOJOURNS  AT  WASHINGTON — IS 
NOMINATED  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY  BY  THE  WHIG  CONVENTION  AT 
BALTIMORE  —  HE  RETURNS  TO  ASHLAND. 

AFTER  withdrawing  from  public  life  Mr.  Clay  re- 
turned to  Kentuck}\  But  though  no  longer  engaged 
in  the  official  service  of  his  country,  he  was  still  the 
object  of  general  interest;  and  he  received  many 
proofs  of  the  continued  admiration  with  which  he 
was  regarded  by  those  whom  he  had  so  long  and  ubiy 
represented  in  the  councils  of  the  nation.  On  the 
9th  of  June,  1842,  a  public  entertainment,  known  by 
the  name  of  Barbecue,  was  prepared  for  him  at  Lex- 
ington, and  an  immense  assemblage  of  persons,  not 
only  from  that  vicinity,  but  also  from  neighboring 
States,  convened  to  increase  the  interest  of  the  occa- 
sion, and  to  gratify  the  laudable  curiosity  which  they 
felt  to  see  and  hear  the  man  whose  fame  already  ex- 
tended so  widely  and  soared  so  loftily. 

On  this  occasion  he  delivered  a  speech  two  hours 
in  length.  It  was  of  a  purely  popular  character,  em- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  177 

bracinjr  a  variety  of  subjects,  and  was  received  with 
the  utmost  enthusiasm.     Chief-Justice  Robertson  of 
Kentucky  presided  ;  and  having*  opened  the  proceed 
ings,  concluded  his  speech  by  offering  the  following 
enthusiastic  sentiment: 

'•'•Henry  Clay — farmer  of  Ashland,  patriot  and  phi- 
lanthropist—  the  American  statesman,  and  unrivalled 
orator  of  the  age — illustrious  abroad,  beloved  at  home: 
in  a  long  career  of  eminent  public  service,  often,  like 
Aristides,  he  breasted  the  raging  storm  of  passion  and 
delusion,  and  by  offering  himself  a  sacrifice,  saved 
the  republic ;  and  now,  like  Cincinnatus  and  Wash- 
ington, having  voluntarily  retired  to  the  tranquil 
walks  of  private  life,  the  grateful  hearts  of  his  coun- 
trymen will  do  him  ample  justice ;  but  come  what 
may,  Kentucky  will  stand  by  him,  and  still  continue  to 
cherish  and  defend,  as  her  own,  the  fame  of  a  son, 
who  has  emblazoned  her  escutcheon  with  immortal 
renown." 

After  the  adoption  of  this  sentiment  by  the  ap- 
proving plaudits  of  myriads,  Mr.  Clay  commenced 
his  speech.  He  embraced  the  occasion  to  review  the 
history  and  some  of  the  events  of  his  own  public  life; 
and  in  the  course  of  it  made  the  following  remarks 
in  reference  to  the  charge  of  bribery  and  corruption 
which  had  so  long  and  so  repeatedly  been  urged 
against  him: 

"  I  will  take  this  occasion  now  to  say  that  I  am, 
and  have  been  long  satisfied,  that  it  would  have  been 
wiser  and  more  politic  in  me  to  have  declined  ac- 
cepting the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  in  1825. 
that  my  motives  were  not  a*  pure  and  as  patriotic 

M 


178  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

ever  carried  any  man  into  public  office.  "Not  .that  the 
calumny  which  was  applied  to  the  fact  was  not  as 
gross  and  as  unfounded  as  any  that  was  ever  propa- 
gated. [Here  somebody  cried  out  that  Mr.  Carter 
Beverley,  who  had  been  made  the  organ  of  announc- 
ing it,  had  recently  borne  testimony  to  its  being  un- 
founded.] Mr.  Clay  said  it  was  true  that  he  had 
voluntarily  borne  such  testimony.  But,  with  great 
earnestness  and  emphasis  Mr.  Clay  said,  I  want  no 
testimony — here,  here,  HERE  [repeatedly  touching  his 
heart,  amid  tremendous  cheers],  HERE  is  the  best  of 
all  witnesses  of  my  innocence.  Not  that  valued 
friends  and  highly-esteemed  opponents  did  not  unite 
in  urging  my  acceptance  of  the  office.  Not  that  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Adams  will  not,  I  sincerely 
believe,  advantageously  compare  with  any  of  his  pre- 
decessors in  economy,  purity,  prudence,  and  wisdom. 
Not  that  Mr.  Adams  was  himself  wanting  in  any  of 
those  high  qualifications  and  upright  and  patriotic 
intentions  which  were  suited  to  the  office.  Of  that 
extraordinary  man,  of  rare  and  varied  attainments, 
whatever  diversity  of  opinion  may  exist  as  to  his  re- 
cent course  in  the  House  of  Representatives  (and 
candor  obliges  me  to  say  that  there  are  some  things 
in  it  which  I  deeply  regret),  it  is  with  no  less  truth 
than  pleasure  I  declare  that,  during  the  whole  period 
of  his  administration,  annoyed,  assailed,  and  assaulted 
as  it  was,  no  man  could  ha.ve  shown  a  more  devoted 
attachment  to  the  Union  and  all  its  great  interests,  a 
more  ardent  desire  faithfully  to  discharge  his  whole 
duty,  or  brought  to  his  aid  more  useful  experience 
and  knowledge,  than  he  did.  I  never  transacted 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  179 

business  with  any  man,  in  my  life,  with  more  ease, 
satisfaction,  and  advantage,  than  I  did  with  that  most 
able  and  indefatigable  gentleman,  as  President  of  the 
United  States.     And  I  will  add,  that  more  harmony  ' 
uever  prevailed  in  any  Cabinet  than  in  his. 

"But  my  error  in  accepting  the  office,  arose  out  of 
my  underrating  the  power  of  detraction  and  the  force 
of  ignorance,  and  abiding  with  too  sure  a  confidence 
in  the  conscious  integrity  and  uprightness  of  my  own 
motives.  Of  that  ignorance  I  had  a  remarkable  and 
laughable  example  on  an  occasion  which  I  will  relate. 
I  was  travelling,  in  1828,  through  I  believe  it  was 
Spottsylvania  County,  in  Virginia,  on  my  return  to 
Washington,  in  company  with  some  young  friends. 
We  halted  at  night  at  a  tavern,  kept  by  an  aged  gen- 
tleman who,  I  quickly  perceived,  from  the  disorder 
and  confusion  which  reigned,  had  not  the  happiness 
to  have  a  wife.  After  a  hurried  and  bad  supper,  the 
old  gentleman  sat  down  by  me,  and  without  hearing 
my  name,  but  understanding  that  I  was  from  Ken- 
tucky, remarked  that  he  had  four  sons  in  that  State, 
and  that  he  was  very  sorry  they  were  divided  in  poli- 
tics, two  being  for  Adams,  and  two  for  Jackson  ;  he 
wished  they  were  all  for  Jackson.  'Why?'  I  asked 
him.  'Because,'  he  said,  'that  fellow  Clay,  and 
Adams,  had  cheated  Jackson  out  of  the  Presidency.' 
'Have  you  ever  seen  any  evidence,  my  old  friend,' 
said  I,  'of  that?'  'No,'  he  replied,  'none,  and  I 
want  to  see  none.'  'But,'  I  observed,  looking  him 
directly  and  steadily  in  the  face,  'suppose  Mr.  Clay 
were  to  come  here  and  assure  you,  upon  his  honor, 
that  it  was  all  a  vile  calumny,  and  not  a  word  of  truth 


180  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

in  it,  would  you  believe  him?'  '!N"o,'  replied  the  old 
gentleman,  promptly  and  emphatically.  I  said  to 
him,  in  conclusion,  'Will  you  be  good  enough  to 
show  me  to  bed?'  and  bade  him  good  night.  The 
next  morning,  having  in  the  interval  learned  my 
name,  he  came  to  me  full  of  apologies ;  but  I  at  once 
put  him  at  his  ease  by  assuring  him  that  I  did  not 
feel  in  the  slightest  degree  hurt  or  offended  with  him. 

"Mr.  President,  I  have  been  accused  of  ambition, 
often  accused  of  ambition.  If  to  have  served  my 
country  during  a  long  series  of  years  with  fervent 
zeal  and  unshaken  fidelity,  in  seasons  of  peace  and 
war,  at  home  and  abroad,  in  the  legislative  halls  and 
in  an  executive  department ;  if  to  have  labored  most 
sedulously  to  avert  the  embarrassment  and  distress 
which  now  overspread  this  Union,  and  when  they 
came,  to  have  exerted  myself  anxiously,  at  the  extra 
session  and  at  this,  to  devise  healing  remedies ;  if  to 
have  desired  to  introduce  economy  and  reform  in  the 
general  administration,  curtail  enormous  executive 
power,  and  amply  provide,  at  the  same  time,  for  the 
wants  of  the  Government  and  the  wants  of  the  people, 
by  a  tariff  which  would  give  it  revenue  and  them 
protection ;  if  to  have  earnestly  sought  to  establish 
the  bright  but  too  rare  example  of  a  party  in  power 
faithful  to  its  promises  and  pledges  made  when  out 
of  power;  if  these  services, , exertions,  and  endeavors, 
justify  the  accusation  of  ambition,  I  must  plead 
guilty  to  the  charge. 

"I  have  wished  the  good  opinion  of  the  world;  but 
I  defy  the  most  malignant  of  my  enemies  to  show 
that  I  have  attempted  to  gain  it  by  any  low  or  grovel- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  181 

ling  arts,  "by  any  mean  or  unworthy  sacrifices,  by  the 
violation  of  any  of  the  obligations  of  honor,  or  by  a 
breach  of  any  of  the  duties  which  I  owed  to  my 
country. 

"I  turn,  sir,  from  these  personal  allusions  and 
reminiscences,  to  the  vastly  more  important  subject 
of  the  present  actual  condition  of  this  country.  If 
they  could  ever  be  justifiable  or  excusable,  it  would 
be  on  such  an  occasion  as  this,  when  I  am  addressing 
those  to  whom  I  am  bound  by  so  many  intimate  and 
friendly  ties." 

Several  months  after  this  occasion,  on  the  1st  of  Oc- 
tober, 1842,  Mr.  Clay  visited  Richmond,  Indiana,  and 
addressed  a  large  assembly  which  was  attracted  to  the 
place  by  the  rumor  that  the  illustrious  statesman  was 
present.  On  this  occasion  an  incident  of  some  import- 
ance and  significance  occurred,  which  deserves  to  be 
narrated.  Anumberof hispolitical opponents, together 
with  a  few  Abolitionists  of  extreme  views,  embraced 
the  opportunity  to  elicit  his  opinions  in  reference  to 
slavery,  and  perhaps  to  embarrass  him  by  a  direct 
petition  that  he  would,  as  the  advocate  of  human 
rights  and  universal  liberty,  immediately  manumit 
his  own  slaves.  A  person  named  Mendenhall  was 
selected  to  perform  the  chief  rdle  on  this  occasion. 
While  engaged  in  delivering  his  speech,  Mr.  Menden- 
hall approached  the  platform,  at  the  head  of  the  com- 
mittee, holding  the  petition  in  his  hand.  Mr.  Clay 
immediately  paused,  and  ascertained  the  import  of 
the  document.  When  the  facts  became  known  to  the 
assembly,  they  were  exceedingly  indignant  at  the 
insult  which  they  thought  was  thus  offered  to  their 
16 


182  THE    LI  I  a    AND    TIMES 

distinguished  visitor;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  in* 
trader  would  have  received  some  personal  violence, 
had  not  Mr.  Clay  himself  interposed.  He  addressed 
the  multitude,  and  said  earnestly: 

"  I  hope  that  Mr.  Mendenhall  may  be  treated  with 
the  greatest  forbearance  and  respect.  I  assure  my 
fellow-citizens,  here  collected,  that  the  presentation 
of  the  petition  has  not  occasioned  the  slightest  pain, 
nor  excited  one  solitary  disagreeable  emotion.  If  it 
were  to  be  presented  to  me,  I  prefer  that  it  should  be 
done  in  the  face  of  this  vast  assemblage.  I  think  I 
can  give  it  such  an  answer  as  becomes  me  and  the 
subject  of  which  it  treats.  At  all  events,  I  entreat 
and  beseech  my  fellow-citizens,  for  their  sake,  for  my 
sake,  to  offer  no  disrespect,  no  indignity,  no  violence, 
in  word  or  deed,  to  Mr.  Mendenhall."  Then,  turning 
to  Mr.  Mendenhall:  "Allow  me  t6  say,  that  I  think 
you  have  not  conformed  to  the  independent  character 
of  an  American  citizen  in  presenting  &  petition  to  me. 
A  petition,  as  the  term  implies,  generally  proceeds 
from  an  inferior  in  power  or  station  to  a  superior; 
but  between  us  there  is  entire  equality." 

When  order  was  restored,  Mr.  Clay  proceeded  to 
answer  the  appeal  thus  made  to  him ;  and  he  acquitted 
himself  in  this  rather  novel  and  perplexing  dilemma 
with  his  usual  tact  and  ability.  He  proceeded  to  ex- 
press his  views  in  reference  to  the  institution  of  sla- 
very, and  the  difficulties  which  inevitably  surrounded 
the  subject.  Said  he : 

"I  know  the  predominant  sentiment  in  the  free 
States  is  adverse  to  slavery;  but,  happy  in  their  own 
exemption  from  whatever  evils  may  attend  it,  the 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.—  188 

great  mass  of  our  fellow-citizens  there  do  not  seek  to 
violate  the  Constitution,  or  to  disturb  the  harmony 
of  these  States.  I  desire  no  concealment  of  my  opi- 
nions in  regard  to  the  institution  of  slavery.  I  look 
upon  it  as  a  great  evil,  and  deeply  lament  that  we 
have  derived  it  from  the  parental  Government,  and 
from  our  ancestors.  I  wish  every  slave  in  the  United 
States  was  in  the  country  of  his  ancestors.  But  here 
they  are,  and  the  question  is,  how  can  they  be  best 
dealt  with  ?  If  a  state  of  nature  existed,  and  we  were 
about  to  lay  the  foundations  of.  society,  no  man  would 
be  more  strongly  opposed  than  I  should  be  to  incor- 
porate the  institution  of  slavery  among  its  elements. 
But  there  is  an  incalculable  difference  between  the 
original  formation  of  society  and  a  long-existing  or- 
ganized society,  with  its  ancient  laws,  institutions, 
and  establishments.  Now,  great  as  I  acknowledge, 
in  my  opinion,  the  evils  of  slavery  are,  they  are  no- 
thing, absolutely  nothing,  in  comparison  with  the  far 
greater  evils  which  would  inevitably  flow  from  a  sud- 
den, general,  and  indiscriminate  emancipation.  In 
some  of  the  States  the  number  of  slaves  approximates 
toward  an  equality  with  that  of  the  whites ;  in  one 
or  two  they  surpass  them.  What  would  be  the  con- 
dition of  the  two  races  in  those  States,  upon  the  sup- 
position of  an  immediate  emancipation  ?  Does  any 
man  suppose  that  they  would  become  blended  into 
one  homogeneous  mass?  Does  any  man  recommend 
amalgamation — that  revolting  admixture,  alike  offen- 
sive to  God  and  man  ?  for  those  whom  He,  by  their 
physical  properties,  has  made  unlike  and  put  asun- 
der, we  may,  without  presumptuousiiess,  suppose 


)/4  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

wore  never  intended  to  be  joined  together  in  one  of 
the  holiest  rites.  And  let  me  tell  you,  sir,  if  you  do 
not  already  know  it,  that  such  are  the  feelings  —  pre- 
judice, if  you  please  (and  what  man,  claiming  to  be 
a  statesman,  will  overlook  or  disregard  the  deep- 
seated  and  unconquerable  prejudices  of  the  people?) 
< — in  the  slave  States,  that  no  human  law  could  en- 
force a  union  between  the  two  races. 

"What  then  would  certainly  happen?  A  struggle 
for  political  ascendency ;  the  blacks  seeking  to  ac 
quire,  and  the  whites  to  maintain,  possession  of  the 
government.  Upon  the  supposition  of  a  general  im- 
mediate emancipation  in  those  States  where  the 
blacks  outnumber  the  whites,  they  would  have  no- 
thing to  do  but  to  insist  upon  another  part  of  the 
same  declaration  of  independence,  as  Dorr  and  his 
deluded  Democratic  followers  recently  did  in  Rhode 
Island ;  according  to  which,  an  undefined  majority 
have  the  right,  at  their  pleasure,  to  subvert  an  exist- 
ing government,  and  institute  a  new  one  in  its  place; 
and  then  the  whites  would  be  brought  in  complete 
subjection  to  the  blacks!  A  contest  would  inevitably 
ensue  between  the  two  races — civil  war,  carnage,  pil- 
lage, conflagration,  devastation,  and  the  ultimate 
extermination  or  expulsion  of  the  blacks.  Nothing 
is  more  certain.  And  are  not  these  evils  far  greater 
than  the  mild  and  continually  improving  state  of  sla- 
very which  exists  in  this  country?  I  say  continually 
improving;  for  if  this  gratifying  progress  in  the  ame- 
lioration of  the  condition  of  the  slaves  has  been 
checked  in  some  of  the  States,  the  responsibility 
must  attach  to  the  unfortunate  agitation  of  the  sub- 


OF    HENR-X    CLAY.  185 

ject  of  abolition.  In  consequence  of  it,  increased 
rigor  in  the  police,  and  further  restraints  have  been 
imposed;  and  I  do  believe  that  gradual  emancipation 
(the  only  method  of  liberation  that  has  ever  been 
thought  safe  or  wise  by  anybody  in  any  of  the  slave 
States)  has  been  postponed  half  a  century." 

In  concluding  this  portion  of  his  speech  Mr.  Clay 
remarked :  "  I  shall,  Mr.  Meudenhall,  take  your  peti- 
tion into  respectful  and  deliberate  consideration  ;  but 
before  I  come  to  a  final  decision,  I  should  like  to  know 
what  you  and  your  associates  are  willing  to  do  for  the 
slaves  in  my  possession,  if  I  should  think  proper  to  libe- 
rate them  ?  I  own  about  fifty,  who  are  probably  worth 
fifteen  thousand  dollars.  To  turn  them  loose  upon 
society,  without  any  means  of  subsistence  or  support, 
would  be  an  act  of  cruelty.  Are  you  willing  to  raise 
and  secure  the  payment  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars 
for  their  benefit,  if  I  should  be  induced  to  free  them? 
The  security  of  the  payment  of  that  sum  would  ma- 
terially lessen  the  obstacle  in  the  way  of  their  eman- 
cipation." 

Soon  after  this  incident,  and  during  the  progress 
of  the  same  journey,  Mr.  Clay  visited  Dayton,  Ohio, 
where  he  addressed  one  of  the  largest  multitudes 
ever  convened  in  this  country,  consisting  probably  of 
a  hundred  thousand  persons.  A  procession  was 
formed  which  marched  by  the  spot  at  which  Mr.  Clay 
stood,  and  greeted  him  with  repeated  and  protracted 
applause.  He  himself  declared  that  he  had  never 
beheld  during  his  long  and  adventurous  life,  so  vast 
and  so  enthusiastic  an  assembly.  Similar  scenes  oc- 
curred afterward  in  December  at  New  Orleans,  at 
10* 


186  THE    LIFE    AKD    TIMES 

Natchez  in  February,  1843,  at  Mobile  and  Vicks 
burg,  at  Jackson,  in  Mississippi,  and  at  Memphis, 
Tennessee.  This  journey,  which  was  undertaken 
partly  on  business,  and  partly  to  gratify  the  solicita- 
tion of  friends  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  was  a 
continual  and  unparalleled  ovation  of  public  admira- 
tion and  applause,  which  could  not  but  be  highly 
gratifying  to  the  illustrious  recipient  of  it. 

The  year  1843  was  spent  by  Mr.  Clay  partly  in  the 
welcome  retirement  of  his  home  at  Ashland,  partly 
in  making  several  journeys  of  business  and  recreation 
to  the  Southern  and  South-eastern  States.  On  the 
10th  of  July  he  was  present  and  spoke  at  Raleigh, 
North  Carolina;  in  December  he  again  visited  New 
Orleans;  in  March,  1844,  Columbus  and  Macon  in 
Georgia.  On  the  1st  of  April,  he  arrived  at  Colum- 
bia, South  Carolina,  on  the  6th  he  reached  Charles- 
ton, and  on  the  12th  he  stopped  at  Raleigh.  He  then 
continued  his  journey  northward  to  Norfolk,  and 
through  Virginia  to  Washington. 

During  his  sojourn  at  the  seat  of  Government,  one 
of  the  most  important  incidents  of  Mr.  Clay's  event- 
ful life  occurred.  Twice  already  had  he  been  nomi 
nated  to  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  nation, 
and  twice  had  he  been  defeated.  The  administration 
of  Mr.  Tyler  was  now  approaching  its  termination, 
and  his  successor  was  to  be  nominated.  The  Whig 
party  was  then  a  powerful  organization,  which,  in  the 
last  contest,  had  placed  General  Harrison  trium- 
phantly in  the  Presidency  ;  and  it  was  reasonably  in- 
ferred that  the  same  success  would  attend  their  efforts 
in  the  struggle  which  was  about  to  ensue.  No  man 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  187 

then  living  in  the  United  States  was  regarded  by  the 
Whigs  with  such  unqualified  admiration,  and  none 
seemed  to  enjoy  such  general  popularity  with  the  mass 
of  the  nation,  hostile  politicians  alone  excepted,  as 
Henry  Clay.  Hence  it  was  that,  when  he  was  nominated 
unanimously  and  by  acclamation  for  the  Presidency 
by  the  National  Whig  Convention  which  convened  at 
Baltimore  on  the  12th  of  May,  1844,  the  nomination 
was  received  with  the  most  extraordinary  enthusiasm; 
inevitable  success  was  prognosticated  by  his  partisans, 
and  hopelessly  deprecated  by  his  opponents.  This 
feeling  was,  if  possible,  increased,  when  the  Demo- 
cratic National  Convention  assembled  in  Baltimore, 
selected  James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  the  friend  and 
protege  of  General  Jackson,  as  the  rival  of  Mr.  Clay; 
whose  inferior  he  seemed  to  be  in  all  the  qualities 
favorable  to  the  attainment  of  success.  The  Whigs 
nominated  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  the  Democrats, 
George  M.  Dallas,  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  On  the 
18th  of  May  Mr.  Clay  left  Washington,  and  returned 
to  his  home  in  Kentucky. 


188  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  OF  1844  —  REVIVAL  OF  THE  "BARGAIX 
AND  SALE"  SLANDER — CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  CONTEST  —  ITS  UN« 
EXPECTED  RESULT  —  DEFEAT  OF  THE  WHIGS  —  DISAPPOINTMENT  OT 
MR.  CLAY'S  FRIENDS  —  VARIOUS  PROOFS  OF  THEIR  ATTACHMENT  TO 
HIM — THE  MEXICAN  WAR  —  DEATH  OF  HENRY  CLAY,  JR. —  MR.  CLAY 
JOINS  THE  CHURCH — HIS  SPEECH  ON  THE  MEXICAN  WAR — HIS  VIEWS 
ON  SLAVERY  — HIS  VISIT  TO  THE  NORTH  —  HIS  RECEPTION. 

THE  Presidential  contest  of  the  year  1844  was  one 
of  the  most  excited  and  animated  which  has  occurred 
in  the  history  of  the  nation.  The  enthusiasm  of  hope 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  energy  of  despair  on  the 
other,  induced  both  parties  to  put  forth  the  most 
vigorous  efforts  to  attain  success.  Intense  bitterness 
was  infused  into  the  contest  by  the  revival  of  the  old 
slander  in  reference  to  Mr.  Clay's  bargain  and  sale 
witli  Mr.  Adams;  the  key-note  of  which  was  given 
by  General  Jackson,  who,  from  the  calm  retirement 
of  the  Hermitage,  on  the  3d  of  May,  published  a  card 
in  the  "Nashville  Union"  reaffirming  the  accusation. 
It  was  as  follows : 

"GENTLEMEN:  My  attention  has  been  called  to 
various  newspapers  articles,  referring  to  a  letter  said 
to  have  been  written  by  me  to  General  Hamilton, 
recanting  the  charge  of  bargain  made  against  Mr. 
Clay,  when  he  voted  for  Mr.  Adams  in  1825. 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  189 

"  To  put  an  end  to  all  such  rumors,  I  feel  it  to  be 
due  to  myself  to  state,  that  I  have  no  recollection  of 
ever  having  written  such  a  letter,  and  do  not  believe 
there  is  a  letter  from  me  to  General  Hamilton,  or  any 
one  else,  that  will  bear  such  a  construction.  Of  the 
charges  brought  against  both  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr. 
Clay,  at  that  time,  I  formed  my  opinion  as  the  coun- 
try at  large  did  —  from  facts  and  circumstances  that 
were  indisputable  and  conclusive;  and  I  may  add, 
that  this  opinion  has  undergone  no  change. 

"  If  General  Hamilton,  or  any  one  else,  has  a  letter 
from  me  on  this  subject,  all  that  they  have  to  do,  is 
to  apply  to  him  for  it.  As  for  myself,  I  have  no 
secrets,  and  do  not  fear  the  publication  of  all  that  I 
have  ever  written  on  this  or  an}'  other  subject." 

It  is  probable  that  the  revival  of  this  calumny  had 
its  effect  on  the  minds  of  many,  especially  of  those 
whose  former  political  preferences  and  animosities 
were  recalled  to  life  by  it.  Beside  all  the  usual  legi- 
timate methods  and  contrivances  which  are  used 
during  Presidential  campaigns  by  all  parties,  there 
were  other  expedients  resorted  to  on  this  occasion 
which  were  not  so  commendable.  The  private  life 
of  Mr.  Clay  was  dragged  into  disagreeable  promi- 
nence, and  unwarrantable  liberties  were  taken  with 
it.  Old  reports  respecting  indulgences  and  vices  of 
which  he  was  said  to  have  been  guilty  during  the 
years  of  his  early  manhood,  were  reproduced  and 
widely  disseminated  as  appertaining  to  later  and 
more  recent  periods  of  his  life ;  and  the  epithets  of 
gambler,  profane  swearer,  sab  bath- breaker,  debauchee, 
were  freely  and  unblushingly  applied  to  him.  The 


190  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMRS 

cry  of  Native  Americanism  was  raised  against  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  the  AVhig  nominee  for  the  Vice-Pre- 
sidency ;  and  the  utmost  efforts  were  made  to  defeat 
the  ticket  by  convincing  the  foreign  population  of  the 
United  States  that  the  triumph  of  the  Whigs  would 
result  in  the  downfall  of  their  liberties,  in  the  burn- 
ing of  their  churches,  in  the  murder  of  their  wives 
and  children,  in  untold  horrors  and  indescribable  ca- 
lamities —  all  which  results  could  be  averted  only  by 
the  success  of  the  Democratic  party. 

In  regard  to  the  slavery  question,  many  of  Mr. 
Clay's  opponents  represented  him  in  a  twofold  and 
equally  false  position.  At  the  North  he  \vas  described 
as  an  ultra  partisan  of  slavery,  obstinately  and  reso- 
lutely bent  upon  its  protection  and  extension.  At 
the  South  he  was  depicted  as  a  rabid  Abolitionist, 
who  had  already  made  several  efforts  to  exterminate 
the  institution  within  the  limits  of  Kentucky,  and 
who  in  future  would  continue  to  wage  a  war  of  exter- 
mination against  it.  Often  the  language  used  by 
Mr.  Cassius  M.  Clay  was  knowingly  and  intentionally 
applied  to  his  illustrious  namesake;  who  was  thus 
made  to  bear  the  consequences  of  his  irresponsible 
acts  and  speeches.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Folk's 
views  and  policy  were  variously  represented ;  at  the 
North  as  a  devoted  friend  of  the  tariff,  and  a  deter- 
mined opponent  of  the  annexation  of  Texas.  At  the 
South  he  was  depicted  and  applauded  as  the  mortal 
foe  ot  the  tariff,  and  as  resolutely  bent  on  immediate 
and  unconditional  annexation.  While  these  opera- 
tions were  going  forward,  a  third  party  was  skilfully 
brought  into  the  field,  whose  only  effect  would  iuevi- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  191 

tably  be,  to  weaken  the  forces  of  the  "Whigs,  while 
they  were  utterly  impotent  in  securing  the  triumph 
of  their  own  organization.  This  was  the  Abolition 
party,  who  nominated  James  G.  Birney  for  the  Pre- 
sidency, and  gave  him  their  ballots;  which,  under 
such  circumstances,  were  equivalent  to  so  man}7  votes 
abstracted  from  the  aggregate  number  polled  by  the 
supporters  and  partisans  of  Mr.  Clay. 

Notwithstanding  these  adverse  influences,  the  lat- 
ter confidently  expected  to  achieve  a  victory ;  and  in 
this  feeling  the  nation  at  large  participated.  The 
disappointment,  therefore,  which  ensued  when,  after 
the  day  of  the  election,  it  was  ascertained  that  James 
JL  Polk  had  obtained  a  majority  of  the  Electors,  and 
would  be  chosen  President  by  the  Electoral  College, 
was  extreme  and  almost  universal.  Mr.  Clay  bore 
his  defeat  with  heroic  fortitude ;  but  myriads  of  his 
admirers  and  friends  felt  a  dejection  such  as  a  great 
personal  calamity  might  alone  be  supposed  to  be  ca- 
pable of  producing.  The  numerical  result  of  the  elec- 
tion was  as  follows : 

For  CLAY  —  Massachusetts,  12;  Rhode  Island,  4; 
Connecticut,  6  ;  Vermont,  6 ;  New  Jersey,  7 ;  Dela- 
ware, 3 ;  Maryland,  8 ;  North  Carolina,  11 ;  Tennes- 
see, 13;  Kentucky,- 12;  Ohio,  23.— Total,  105. 

For  POLK  —  Maine,  9;  New  Hampshire,  6;  New 
York,  36 ;  Pennsylvania,  26 ;  Virginia,  17 ;  South 
Carolina,  9;  Georgia,  10;  Alabama,  9;  Mississippi, 
6;  Louisiana,  6;  Indiana,  12;  Illinois,  9;  Missouri, 
7;  Michigan,  5;  Arkansas,  3. — Total,  170. 

The  official  popular  vote  numbered  for  CLAY, 
1,297,912;  for  POLK,  1,336,196;  forUiRNEY,  the  cai>- 


192  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

didate  of  the  "Liberal  Party,"  62,127.  Mr.  Folk's 
majority  over  Mr.  Clay,  exclusive  of  South  Carolina, 
where  the  Presidential  Electors  were  chosen  by  the 
Legislature,  was  32,284. 

From  this  statement  it  is  evident  that  the  loss  of 
the  votes  given  to  Mr.  Birney  produced  the  defeat  of 
Mr.  Clay,  who  would  otherwise  have  had  a  clear  ma- 
jority over  the  Democratic  nominee.  This  circum- 
stance naturally  increased  the  regret  which  was  felt 
by  Mr.  Clay's  friends,  that  what  they  regarded  as  a 
most  glorious  result  should  have  been  defeated  by  the 
obstinacy  of  those  who  persisted  in  following  out  a 
policy  which  led  to  no  consequences  favorable  to  them- 
selves. The  despair  of  many  persons  at  the  result 
was  extravagant,  and  sometimes  even  absurd;  as  will 
appear  from  the  following  extracts  from  a  few  of  the 
hundreds  of  letters  which  Mr.  Clay  received  at  Ash- 
land, deprecating  the  issue,  and  tendering  him  sym- 
pathy : 

"  What  a  wound  has  been  inflicted  upon  the  honor 
and  interests  of  the  country  !  I  pray  God,  that  truth 
may  yet  prevail,  and  our  republican  institutions  be 
saved.  It  affords  me  some  satisfaction,  under  the  ad- 
verse state  of  things  that  exist,  to  assure  you  of  my 
abiding  esteem  and  cordial  friendship." 

"I  write  with  an  aching  heart,  and  ache  it  must. 
God  Almighty  save  us !  Although  our  hearts  are 
broken  and  bleeding,  and  our  bright  hopes  are 
crushed,  we  feel  proud  of  our  candidate.  God  bless 
you!  Your  countrymen  do  bless  you.  All  know 
how  to  appreciate  the  man  who  has  stood  in  the  first 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  193 

rank  of  American  patriots.    Though  unknown  to  you, 
you  are  by  no  means  a  stranger  to  me." 

"  Sir,  we  love  you  now  better  than  ever. ' 

UI  have  hardly  ventured  to  touch  my  pen  to  paper, 
dear  and  honored  sir,  to  speak  of  the  catastrophe 
which  has  befallen  our  country.  Its  effects  are  be- 
ginning to  develop  themselves  with  frightful  rapidity. 
In  the  midst  of  its  anguish,  the  public  heart  heaves 
with  an  oppressive  sense  of  gratitude  toward  your- 
self." 

"  I  do  not  write  to  you,  my  dear  sir,  to  offer  con 
dolence,  which,  I  know,  would   be   misplaced   and 
presumptuous.     It  is  my  solemn  belief  that,  of  all 
men,  you  have  the  least  real  cause  to  regret  the  re- 
sult." 

"The  result  of  the  late  election,  although  disas- 
trous to  the  country,  furnishes  a  proud  vindication 
of  your  principles  and  fame.  No  man  ever  before 
received  so  glorious  a  testimonial.  The  defeat  is 
nothing  to  you.  It  is  the  people  who  are  to  be  tho 
sufferers." 

"I  have  buried  a  revolutionary  father,  who  poured 
out  his  blood  for  his  country ;  I  have  followed  a  mo- 
ther, brothers,  sisters,  and  children,  to  the  grave;  and 
although  I  hope  I  have  felt,  under  all  these  afflic- 
tions, as  a  son,  a  brother,  and  a  father  should  feel, 
yet  nothing  has  so  crushed  me  to  the  earth,  and  de- 
pressed my  spirits,  as  the  result  of  our  late  political 
contest." 

"I  have  thought  for  three  or  four  days  I  would 
write  you,  but  really  I  am  unmanned.     All  is  gone! 
I  see  nothing  but  despair  depicted  in  every  couute- 
17  N 


194  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

nance.  I  confess  that  nothing  has  happened  to  shake 
rny  confidence  in  our  ability  to  sustain  a  free  govern- 
ment, so  mucli  as  this.  A  cloud  of  gloom  hangs  over 
the  future.  May  God  save  the  country!" 

"Could  you  behold  the  depression  of  spirit  and 
sinking  of  heart  that  pervade  the  community,  I  am 
sure  you  would  feel,  'Well,  in  very  truth,  my  defeat 
has  been  the  occasion  of  a  more  precious  tribute  and 
vindication  than  the  majority  of  numbers.'' 

"I  feel  as  if  it  would  be  some  relief  to  express  to 
you  the  deep  grief  with  which  my  heart  is  penetrated. 
Never  was  interest  so  intense  manifested  in  behalf  of 
any  public  man.  Your  reputation  as  a  statesman  and 
a  patriot  remains  untouched,  or  is  rendered  more 
brilliant,  still  commanding,  as  it  long  has  commanded, 
the  admiration  of  the  world."  * 

The  most  serious  circumstance  which  attended  the 
campaign  of  1844,  was  the  fact  that  extensive  frauds 
were  charged,  and  in  some  instances  demonstrated, 
to  have  taken  place,  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  Mr. 
Clay.  It  is  unnecessary  at  this  late  period  to  specify 
the  details  connected  with  this  subject;  but  they  were 
sufficient  at  the  time  to  convince  a  large  proportion 
of  the  public  that  Mr.  Clay  had  in  fact  received  a 
majority  of  the  legal  votes  which  had  been  polled 
throughout  the  nation :  and  that  he  had  been  made 

C*  ' 

a  victim  of  the  implacable  hate  of  his  poliuoal  and 
personal  enemies,  who  were  determined  at  all  hazards 
to  forbid  and  prevent  his  attainment  of  the  Presi- 
dency. 

*  The  preceding  extracts  are  taken  from  Colton's  Life  of  Henry 
Clay,  vol.  ii.  p.  446. 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  19/) 

"He  who  ascends  the  mountain-top  shall  find 

Its  loftiest  peaks  most  wrapt  in  clouds  and  snow; 
He  who  surpasses  or  subdues  mankind, 

Must  look  down  on  the  hate  of  those  below, 
Though  far  above  the  sun  of  glory  glow, 
And  far  beneath  the  earth  and  ocean  spread: 
Round  him  are  icy  rocks,  and  loudly  blow 
Contending  tempests  on  his  naked  head, 
And  thus  reward  the  toils  which  to  those  summits  led." 

After  the  termination  of  this  struggle,  and  the  elec- 
tion of  Mr.  Polk,  Mr.  Clay  received  many  substantial 
testimonials  of  the  undiminished  regard  and  sympa- 
thy of  his  friends.  In  December,  1844,  a  public 
meeting  was  held  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  which 
adopted  measures  for  the  erection  of  a  statue  to  his 
honor,  which  was  to  be  accomplished  solely  through 
the  agency  of  the  ladies  of  Virginia.  The  widow  of 
Governor  Barbour  accepted  the  presidency  of  the 
association.  Addresses  were  sent  to  him  containing 
sentiments  of  the  profoundest  regard  and  esteem, 
from  public  meetings  convened  in  New  York,  New 
Haven,  and  other  leading  cities.  But  the  most  re- 
markable demonstration  of  this  kind  was  one  which 
was  least  expected  by  him.  During  the  campaign, 
and  by  various  means,  his  estate  had  become  involved 
to  the  amount  of  fifty  thousand  dollars.  He  had 
mortgaged  his  lands  at  Ashland  for  the  payment  of 
this  sum ;  and  as  the  day  of  payment  approached,  ho 
found  himself  utterly  unable  to  liquidate  his  enor- 
mous obligations.  A  number  of  his  friends  had  as- 
certained these  facts,  contributed  the  sum  privately 
among  themselves,  and  satisfied  the  mortgage.  Ilia 
first  knowledge  of  the  affair  was  his  receipt  of  the 


106  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

cancelled  obligation  ;  he  was  quite  overcome  by  so 
touching  a  proof  of  the  devotion  of  his  friends,  and 
exclaimed  :  "Had  ever  any  man  such  friends  or  ene 
inies  as  Henry  Clay  !"  Several  months  afterward  he 
was  presented  by  the  gold  and  silver  artificers  of  the 
city  of  New  York  with  a  silver  vase,  three  feet  in 
height,  beautifully  chased,  and  appropriately  in- 
scribed ;  and  in  November,  1846,  a  similar  compli- 
ment was  tendered  him  by  an  association  of  ladies  in 
Tennessee. 

Mr.  Clay  spent  the  two  years  which  followed  this 
memorable  campaign  in  retirement  at  Ashland.  The 
winter  months  he  usually  passed  at  New  Orleans,  the 
climate  of  which  was  propitious  to  his  health.  Du 
ring  this  period  of  retirement,  he  watched  with  the 
solicitude  of  a  true  patriot  the  progress  of  public 
affairs;  and  regarded  with  intense  concern  the  tri- 
umphs and  vicissitudes  of  the  American  arms  then 
invading  Mexico.  Mr.  Clay's  son  Henry  had  aban- 
doned the  practice  of  law,  and  had  taken  a  commis- 
sion under  General  Taylor.  At  length  the  news 
reached  the  aged  patriot  that  his  son  had  fallen  with 
honor,  on  the  blood-stained  field  of  Buena  Vista. 
Soon  afterward  he  received  from  the  commander  him- 
self the  following  letter,  officially  communicating  to 
him  the  sad  intelligence.  It  was  dated  March  1st, 
1847: 

"Mv  DEAR  SIR:  You  will  no  doubt  have  received, 
before  this  can  reach  you,  the  deeply  distressing  in- 
telligence of  the  death  of  your  son  in  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista.  It  is  with  no  wish  of  intruding  upon 
the  sauctuary  of  parental  sorrow,  and  with  no  hope 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  197 

of  administering  any  consolation  to  your  wounded 
heart,  that  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  addressing  you 
these  few  lines;  but  I  have  felt  it  a  duty  which  I  owe 
to  the  memory  of  the  distinguished  dead,  to  pay  a 
willing  tribute  to  his  many  excellent  qualities,  and 
while  my  feelings  are  still  fresh,  to  express  the  deso- 
lation which  his  untimely  loss,  and  that  of  other  kin- 
dred spirits,  have  occasioned. 

"I  had  but  a  casual  acquaintance  with  your  son, 
until  he  became  for  a  time  a  member  of  my  military 
family ;  and  I  can  truly  say  that  no  one  ever  won, 
more  rapidly  upon  my  regard,  or  established  a  more 
lasting  claim  to  my  respect  and  esteem.  Manly  and 
honorable  in  every  impulse,  with  no  feeling  but  for 
the  honor  of  the  service  and  of  the  country,  he  gave 
every  assurance  that  in  the  hour  of  need  I  could  lean 
with  confidence  upon  his  support.  Nor  was  I  disap- 
pointed. Under  the  guidance  of  himself  and  the 
lamented  M'Kee,  gallantly  did  the  sons  of  Kentucky, 
in  the  thickest  of  the  strife,  uphold  the  honor  of  the 
State  and  of  the  country. 

"A  grateful  people  will  do  justice  to  the  memory 
of  those  who  fell  on  that  eventful  day.  But  I  may 
be  permitted  to  express  the  bereavement  which  I  feel 
in  the  loss  of  valued  friends.  To  your  son  I  felt 
bound  by  the  strongest  ties  of  private  regard;  and 
when  I  miss  his  familiar  face,  and  those  of  M'Kee 
and  Hardin,  I  can  say  with  truth  that  I  feel  no  exul- 
tation in  our  success. 

"With   the   expression  of  my  deepest  and   most 
heartfelt  sympathies  for  your  irreparable  loss,  I  re- 
main your  friend." 
17* 


'198  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

One  of  the  grounds  on  which  Mr.  Clay  had  opposed 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  was,  that  an  expensive  and 
profitless  war  with  Mexico  would  he  the  inevitable 
consequence.  His  prophecy  had  been  fulfilled  ;  arid 
although  victory  attended  the  American  arms  in  every 
stage  of  their  progress,  we  may  readily  excuse  the 
earnestness  with  which  Mr.  Clay  condemned  a  policy 
which,  being  of  so  little  real  benefit  to  his  country, 
had  resulted  in  so  serious  a  calamity  to  himself. 

During  the  summer  of  1847  Mr.  Clay,  after  solemn 
deliberation,  united  himself  with  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church.  This  event,  so  full  of  interest  under 
the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  consider- 
ing the  chief  actor  in  it,  can  be  best  described  in  the 
language  of  one  whose  privilege  it  was  to  be  present 
on  the  occasion : 

"  Mr.  Clay  was  baptized  in  the  little  parlor  at  Ash- 
land, on  Tuesday,  the  22d  instant,  together  with  one 
of  his  daughters-in-law  (the  other  being  already  a 
member  of  the  church)  and  her  four  children,  by  the 
Rev.  Edward  F.  Berkley,  rector  of  Christ  Church, 
Lexington.  The  baptism  was  administered  privately, 
for  the  reason  that  the  congregation  of  Christ  Church 
are  replacing  their  old  church  with  a  new  edifice, 
now  in  rapid  progress  of  erection,  and  are  not  suita- 
bly situated  for  the  most  solemn  and  decent  adminis- 
tration of  this  rite  in  public. 

"When  the  minister  entered  the  room  on  this 
deeply  solemn  and  interesting  occasion,  the  small 
assembly,  consisting  of  the  immediate  family,  a  few 
family  connections,  and  the  clergyman's  wife,  rose 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  199 

up.  In  the  middle  of  the  room  stood  a  large  centre- 
table,  on  which  was  placed,  filled  with  water,  the 
magnificent  cut-glass  vase  presented  to  Mr.  Clay  by 
some  gentlemen  of  Pittsburg.  On  one  side  of  the 
room  hung  the  large  picture  of  the  family  of  Wash- 
ington, himself  an  Episcopalian  by  birth,  by  educa- 
tion, and  a  devout  communicant  of  the  Church;  and 
immediately  opposite,  on  a  side-table,  stood  the  bust 
of  the  lamented  Harrison,  with  a  chaplet  of  withered 
flowers  hung  upon  his  head,  who  was  to  have  been 
confirmed  in  the  Church  the  Sabbath  after  he  died — 
fit  witnesses  of  such  a  scene.  Around  the  room  were 
suspended  a  number  of  family  pictures,  and  among 
them  the  portrait  of  a  beloved  daughter,  who  died 
some  years  ago,  in  the  triumphs  of  that  faith  which 
her  noble  father  was  now  about  to  embrace ;  and  the 
picture  of  the  late  lost  son,  who  fell  at  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista.  Could  these  silent  lookers-on  at  the 
scene  about  transpiring  have  spoken  from  the  marble 
and  the  canvas,  they  would  heartily  have  approved 
the  act  which  dedicated  the  great  man  to  God." 

During  the  summer  which  ensued  Mr.  Clay  visited 
the  North,  spending  some  weeks  at  Cape  May  for  the 
purpose  of  invigorating  his  health.  He  was  attended, 
at  every  stage  of  his  progress,  by  the  enthusiastic 
plaudits  of  his  countrymen,  which  could  not  fail  to 
be  highly  gratifying  to  him.  After  his  return  to  Ash- 
.and,  he  delivered  a  speech  at  Lexington,  on  the  13th 
of  November,  in  reference  to  the  Mexican  War,  which 
was  regarded  as  one  of  his  ablest  efforts.  An  im- 
mense assemblage  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  were  pre- 


200  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

sent  to  hear  it.  Burin*?  its  progress  he  re-stated  his 
mature  opinions  in  reference  to  the  institution  of 
plavery,  in  the  following  language: 

"It  may  be  argued  that,  in  admitting  the  injustice 
*>f  slavery,  I  admit  the  necessity  of  an  instantaneous 
reparation  of  that  injustice.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, it  is  not  always  safe,  practicable,  or  possible,  in 
the  great  movements  of  States  and  public  aftairs  of 
nations,  to  remedy  or  repair  the  infliction  of  previous 
injustice.  In  the  inception  of  it,  we  may  oppose  and 
denounce  it,  by  our  most  strenuous  exertions,  but, 
after  its  consummation,  there  is  often  no  other  alter- 
native left  us  but  to  deplore  its  perpetration,  and  to 
acquiesce,  as  the  only  alternative,  in  its  existence,  as 
a  less  evil  than  the  frightful  consequences  which 
might  ensue  from  the  vain  endeavor  to  repair  it. 
Slavery  is  one  of  those  unfortunate  instances.  The 
evil  of  it  was  inflicted  upon  us  by  the  parent-country 
of  Great  Britain,  against  all  the  entreaties  and  re- 
monstrances of  the  colonies.  And  here  it  is  among 
and  amid  us,  and  we  must  dispose  of  il  as  be*st  we 
can  under  all  the  circumstances  which  sunound  us. 
It  continued,  by  the  importation  of  slaves  from 
Africa,  in  spite  of  colonial  resistance,  for  a  period  of 
more  than  a  century  and  a  half,  and  it  may  require 
an  equal  or  longer  lapse  of  time  before  our  country 
is  entirely  rid  of  the  evil.  And,  in  the  meantime, 
moderation,  prudence,  and  discretion,  among  our- 
selves, and  the  blessings  of  Providence,  may  be  all 
necessary  to  accomplish  our  ultimate  deliverance  from 
it.  Examples  of  similar  infliction  of  irreparable  na- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  201 

tional  evil  and  injustice  might  be  multiplied  to  an 
indefinite  extent.  The  case  of  the-  annexation  of 
Texas  to  the  United  States  is  a  recent  and  an  obvious 
one,  which,  if  it  were  wrong,  can  not  now  be  re- 
paired. Texas  is  now  an  integral  part  of  our  Union, 
with  its  own  voluntary  consent.  Many  of  us  opposed 
the  annexation  with  honest  zeal  and  most  earnest 
exertions.  But  who  would  now  think  of  perpetrating 
the  folly  of  easting  Texas  out  of  the  confederacy,  and 
throwing  her  back  upon  her  own  independence,  or 
into  the  arms  of  Mexico?  Who  would  now  seek  to 
divorce  her  from  this  Union  ?  The  Creeks  and  the 
Cherokee  Indians  were,  by  the  most  exceptionable 
means,  driven  from  their  country,  and  transported 
beyond  the  Mississippi  river.  Their  lands  have  been 
fairly  purchased  and  occupied  by  inhabitants  of 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Tennessee.  Who 
would  now  conceive  the  flagrant  injustice  of  expel- 
ling those  inhabitants  and  restoring  the  Indian  coun- 
try to  the  Cherokees  and  the  Creeks,  under  color  of 
repairing  the  original  injustice?" 

During  the  winter  of  1847-48,  Mr.  Clay  was  in- 
duced to  visit  Washington,  at  the  calls  of  professional 
business ;  and  it  was  on  this  occasion  that  he  made 
his  memorable  speech  before  the  American  Coloniza- 
tion Society.  He  also  argued  an  important  lawsuit  ill 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  —  that  of 
William  Houston  vs.  the  Bank  of  New  Orleans.  In 
both  of  these  efforts  he  displayed  his  usual  and  pris- 
tine ability,  and  though  seven  t}--one  years  of  *^e,  ex- 
hibited no  diminution  of  his  intellectual  vigor  8»ib- 


:202  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

sequently  he  extended  his  journey  to  Baltimore, 
Philadelphia,  and  New  York,  hy  special  request  and 
invitation  ;  and  was  everywhere  greeted  as  a  national 
favorite  and  benefactor.  In  all  these  cities  immense 
multitudes  crowded  the  streets  to  behold  and  applaud 
the  veteran  statesman ;  while  public  banquets  and 
receptions  without  number  were  tendered  to  him. 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  203 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

Tf  '  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGN'  OF  1848 — WISHES  OF  MR.  CLAY'S  FRIENDS— 
NOMINATION  OF  GENERAL  TAYLOR  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY — HIS  ELEC- 
TION —  MR.  CLAY  RE-ELECTED  TO  THE  U.  S.  SENATE — HIS  LETTER  IN 

REFERENCE  TO  THE  ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY  IN  KENTUCKY  —  ITS  RE- 
SULTS—  COMPROMISE  MEASURES   OF  1850 THEIR   IMPORT — MR. 

CLAY'S  EFFORTS  IN  FAVOR  OF  THEM  —  OPPOSITION  OF  BOTH  NORTH- 
ERN AND  SOUTHERN  SENATORS  —  THEIR  ULTIMATE  DEFEAT. 

IN  June,  1848,  the  Whig  National  Convention  eon- 
v  ned  in  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  nominating 
a  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  So  strong  was  the 
h«  Id  which  Mr.  Clay  had  secured  upon  the  admiration 
o/  the  nation,  and  on  the  partiality  of  the  party  to 
w  lich  he  belonged,  that,  notwithstanding  the  repeated 
d-jfeats  which  he  had  experienced  in  the  preceding 
Presidential  campaigns,  there  was  a  large  proportion 
of  the  party  in  favor  of  his  renomination  ;  who  were 
disposed  to  enter  for  the  fourth  time  upon  the  struggle 
to  elevate  him  to  that  exalted  post  of  which  he  was 
more  worthy,  and  for  the  performance  of  the  duties 
of  which  he  was  more  competent,  than  any  other 
man  then  living  in  the  nation.  His  only  rival  on  this 
occasion  was  General  Zachary  Taylor,  the  hero  of  the 
Mexican  "War;  who  had  gained  great  popularity  by 
his  several  victories  in  that  contest,  which  had  been 
achieved  under  the  most  disadvantageous  circum- 
stances. 


204  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  General  Taylor  was 
regarded    l>v  the  Convention  as  the  more  available 

r*  •/ 

candidate  of  the  two;  and  when  the  Kentucky  dele- 
gation gave  a  majority  of  their  votes  in  favor  of  the 
military  hero,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay  at  once  aban- 
doned all  hope  of  his  nomination.  At  the  first  ballot 
the  vote  stood,  for  Mr.  Clay,  ninety-seven,  for  Gene- 
ral Taylor,  a  hundred  and  eleven,  for  General  Scott, 
forty-three.  Succeeding  ballots  followed  with  vary- 
ing numbers,  until  upon  the  fourth,  General  Taylor 
received  a  hundred  and  seventy-one,  which  gave  him 
the  nomination.  The  conqueror  of  Buena  Vista  became 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  Millard  Fillmore, 
Vice-President.  When  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky 
convened  in  December,  1848,  Mr.  Clay  was  again 
chosen  unanimously  to  represent  that  Commonwealth 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  to  serve  six  years 
from  the  4th  of  March,  1849.  On  that  day  the  new- 
President  entered  upon  his  term  of  office,  and  lived 
to  perform  its  functions  only  during  a  few  months. 

It  must  have  been  with  singular  and  perhaps 
mingled  emotions,  that  Mr.  Clay  resumed  his  seat  in 
that  body,  of  which  he  had  taken  his  solemn  farewell 
seven  years  before;  then  confidently  expecting  never  to 
return  to  it.  Forty-three  years  had  elapsed  since  the 
day  when,  in  the  strength  and  vigor  of  his  majestic 
manhood,  he  had  first  entered  it;  and  in  all  the  groat 
scenes  of  intellectual  conflict  and  glory  which  had 
transpired  there  during  the  interval,  he  had  taken  a 
prominent  and  distinguished  part.  lie  returned  to  the 
arena  of  his  triumphs  with  powers  still  undimmcd  by 
the  lapse  of  years ;  and  gave  proofs  during  the  pro- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  205 

gress  of  this,  his  last  term  of  public  service,  that  his 
was  still  the  same  gigantic  mind  and  consummate 
powers  which  had,  during  so  many  years,  elicited  the 
applause  and  promoted  the  interests  of  his  coun- 
trymen. 

In  1849  the  citizens  of  Kentucky  held  a  Conven- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  revising  their  State  Constitu- 
tion. One  of  the  most  important  subjects  which 
engaged  their  attention  was  that  of  domestic  slavery. 
There  was  a  large  party  in  the  State  who  were  in 
favor  of  adopting  some  plan  for  the  gradual  removal 
of  an  institution  which  they  regarded  either  as  unjust 
and  repugnant  to  the  natural  rights  of  man,  or  as 
injurious  to  the  interests  of  the  white  population. 
Mr.  Clay  was  one  of  those  who  was  in  favor  of  the 
gradual  abolition  of  slavery,  in  view  of  both  conside- 
rations. He  thought  that  the  time  had  arrived  when, 
by  the  proposed  amendment  of  the  State  Constitution, 
an  opportunity  was  given  for  that  purpose,  to  intro- 
duce provisions  in  it  which  would  prevent  slavery 
from  being  perpetual  in  the  State,  and  which  would 
result  in  its  gradual,  safe,  and  effectual  suppression. 
He  therefore  determined  to  embrace  the  opportunity 
to  aid  in  attaining  that  great  and  beneficent  result; 
and  he  set  forth  his  views  in  a  letter  which  he  acl- 
drt-ssed  to  a  relative  and  friend,  Mr.  Pindell  of  Lex- 
ington, with  the  design  that  it  should  be  made  public, 
and  thus  influence  the  deliberations  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  then  in  session.  This  document 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  which  Mr.  Clay  ever 
produced,  displaying  the  profoundest  reflection,  tho 
most  ardent  patriotism,  the  utmost  sagacity  as  a 
18 


THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

statesman,  and,  we  may  add,  the  most  commendable 
chanty  and  benevolence.  The  following  extracts 
from  this  celebrated  production  cannot  fail  to  be  ac- 
ceptable to  the  admirer  of  the  genius  and  patriotism 
of  Mr.  Clay. 

"  When,  on  the  occasion  of  the  formation  of  our 
present  Constitution  of  Kentucky,  in  1799,  the  ques- 
tion of  the  gradual  emancipation  of  slavery  in  the 
State  was  agitated,  its  friends  had  to  encounter  a 
great  obstacle  in  the  fact,  that  there  then  existed  no 
established  colony  to  which  they  could  be  trans 
ported.  Now,  by  the  successful  establishment  of 
flourishing  colonies  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa, 
that  difficulty  has  been  obviated.  And  I  confess  that, 
without  indulging  in  any  undue  feelings  of  supersti- 
tion, it  does  seem  to  me  that  it  may  have  been  among 
the  dispensations  of  Providence  to  permit  the  wrongs 
under  which  Africa  has  suffered,  to  be  inflicted  that. 
her  children  might  be  returned  to  their  original  home 
civilized  and  imbued  with  the  benign  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  prepared  ultimately  to  redeem  that,  great 
continent  from  barbarism  and  idolatry. 

"Without  undertaking  to  judge  for  any  other 
State,  it  was,  in  my  opinion,  in  1799,  that  Kentucky 
was  in  a  condition  to  admit  of  the  gradual  emanci- 
pation of  her  slaves ;  and  how  deeply  do  I  lament 
that  a  system,  with  that  object,  had  not  been  then 
established !  If  it  had  been,  the  State  would  now 
be  nearly  rid  of  all  slaves.  My  opinion  has  never 
changed,  and  I  have  frequently  publicly  expressed  it. 
I  should  be  most  happy  if  what  was  impracticable  at 
that  epoch  could  iiow  be  accomplished 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  207 

"After  full  and  deliberate  consideration  of  the 
subject,  it  appears  to  me  three  principles  should  regu- 
late the  establishment  of  a  system  of  gradual  emanci- 
pation. The  first  is,  that  it  should  be  slow  in  its 
operation,  cautious,  and  gradual,  so  as  to  occasion  no 
convulsion,  nor  any  rash  or  sudden  disturbance  in  the 
existing  habits  of  society.  Second,  that,  as  an  indis- 
pensable condition,  the  emancipated  slaves  should  be 
removed  from  the  State  to  some  colony.  And  thirdly, 
that  the  expenses  of  their  transportation  to  such 
colony,  including  an  outfit  for  six  months  after  their 
arrival  at  it,  should  be  defrayed  b}-  a  fund  to  be  raised 
from  the  labor  of  each  freed  slave. 

"Nothing  could  be  more  unwise  than  the  imme- 
diate liberation  of  all  the  slaves  in  the  State,  compre- 
hending both  sexes  and  all  ages,  from  that  of  tender 
infancy  to  extreme  old  age.  It  would  lead  to  the 
most  frightful  and  fatal  consequences.  Any  great 
change  in  the  condition  of  society  should  be  marked 
by  extreme  care  and  circumspection.  The  introduc- 
tion of  slaves  into  the  colonies  was  an  operation  of 
many  years'  duration ;  and  the  work  of  their  removal 
from  the  United  States  can  only  be  effected  after  the 
lapse  of  a  great  length  of  time. 

"I  think  that  a  period  should  be  fixed  when  all 
born  after  it  should  be  free  at  a  specified  age,  all  born 
before  it  remaining  slaves  for  life.  That  period  I 
would  suggest  should  be  1855,  or  even  1860 ;  for  on 
this  and  other  arrangements  of  the  system,  if  adopted, 
I  incline  to  a  liberal  margin,  so  as  to  obviate  as  many 
objections,  and  to  unite  as  many  opinions  as  possi- 
ble. "Whether  the  commencement  of  the  operation 


208  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

of  the  system  be  a  little  earlier  or  later,  is  not  so  im- 
portant as  that  a  day  should  be  permanently  fixed, 
from  which  we  could  look  forward,  with  coniidence, 
to  the  final  termination  of  slavery  within  the  limits 
of  the  Commonwealth. 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  day  fixed,  whether  1855  or 
1860,  or  any  other  day,  all  born  after  it,  I  suggest, 
should  be  free  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  but  be  liable 
afterward  to  be  hired  out,  under  the  authority  of  the 
State,  for  a  term  not  exceeding  three  years,  in  order 
to  raise  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  the  expenses  of  their 
transportation  to  the  colony,  and  to  provide  them  an 
outfit  for  six  months  after  their  arrival  there. 

"If  the  descendants  of  those  who  were  themselves 
to  be  free,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  were  also  to  be 
considered  as  slaves  until  they  attained  the  same  age, 
and  this  rule  were  continued  indefinitely  as  to  time, 
it  is  manifest  that  slavery  would  be  perpetuated  in- 
stead of  being  terminated.  To  guard  against  this 
consequence,  provisions  might  be  made  that  the  off- 
spring of  those  who  were  to  be  free  at  twenty-five, 
should  be  free  from  their  births,  but  upon  the  condi- 
tion that  they  should  be  apprenticed  until  they  were 
twenty-one,  and  be  also  afterward  liable  to  be  hired 
out,  a  period  not  exceeding  th»ee  years,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  raising  funds  to  meet  the  expenses  to  tho 
colony  and  their  subsistence  fo»-  the  first  six  months. 

"The  Pennsylvania  system  ol  emancipation  fixed 
the  period  of  twenty-eight  for  the  liberation  of  the 
slaves,  and  provided,  or  her  courts  have  since  inter- 
preted the  system  to  mean,  that  the  issue  of  all  who 
were  to  be  free  at  the  limited  age,  were  from  their 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  20J 

births  free.     The  Pennsylvania  system  made  no  pro- 
vision for  colonization. 

"  Until  the  commencement  of  the  system  which  I 
am  endeavoring  to  sketch,  I  think  all  the  legal  righ  ;s 
of  the  proprietors  of  slaves,  in  their  fullest  extent, 
ought  to  remain  unimpaired  and  unrestricted.  Coi- 
sequently,  they  would  have  the  right  to  sell,  device, 
or  remove  them  from  the  State,  and,  in  the  latter 
case,  without  their  offspring  being  entitled  to  the 
benefit  of  emancipation,  for  which  the  system  pro- 
vides. 

'*  The  colonization  of  the  free  blacks,  as  they  suc- 
cessively arrived,  from  year  to  year,  at  the  age  enti- 
tling them  to  freedom,  I  consider  a  condition  abso- 
lutely indispensable.  Without  it  I  should  be  utterly 
opposed  to  any  scheme  of  emancipation.  One  hun- 
dred and  ninety  odd  thousand  blacks,  composing 
about  one-fourth  of  the  entire  population  of  the  State, 
with  their  descendants,  could  never  live  in  peace, 
harmony,  and  equality,  with  the  residue  of  the  popu- 
lation. The  color,  passions,  and  prejudices  would 
forever  prevent  the  two  races  from  living  together  in 
in  a  state  of  cordial  union.  Social,  moral,  and  politi- 
cal degradation  would  be  the  inevitable  lot  of  the 
colored  race.  Even  in  the  free  States  (I  use  the 
terms  free  and  slave  States  not  in  any  sense  deroga- 
tory from  one  class,  or  implying  any  superiority  in 
the  other,  but  for  the  sake  of  brevity)  that  is  their 
present  condition.  In  some  of  those  free  States  the 
penal  legislation  against  the  people  of  color  is  quite 
as  severe,  if  not  harsher,  than  it  is  in  some  of  the 
slave  States.  And  nowhere  in  the  United  States  are 
18*  o 


210  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

amalgamation  and  equality  between  the  two  races 
possible  —  it  is  better  that  there  should  be  a  separa- 
tion, and  that  the  African  descendants  should  be  re- 
turned to  the  native  land  of  their  fathers. 

"It  would  have  been  seen  that  the  plan  I  have 
suggested  proposes  the  annual  transportation  of  all 
born  after  a  specified  day,  upon  their  arrival  at  the 
prescribed  age,  to  the  colony  which  may  be  selected 
for  their  destination,  and  that  this  process  of  trans- 
portation is  to  be  continued  until  the  separation  of 
the  two  races  is  completed.  If  the  emancipated 
slaves  were  to  remain  in  Kentucky  until  they  attained 
the  age  of  twenty-eight,  it  would  be  about  thirty-four 
years  before  the  first  annual  transportation  begins,  if 
the  system  commence  in  1855,  and  about  thirty-nine 
years,  if  its  operation  begin  in  18GO. 

"What  the  number  thus  to  be  annually  transported 
would  be.  cannot  be  precisely  ascertained.  I  observe 
it  stated  by  the  auditor,  that  the  increase  of  slaves  in 
Kentucky  last  year  was  between  three  and  four  thou- 
sand. But  as  that  statement  was  made  upon  a  com- 
parison of  the  aggregate  number  of  all  the  slaves  in 
the  State,  without  regard  to  births,  it  does  not,  I  pre- 
sume, exhibit  truly  the  natural  increase,  which  was 
probably  larger.  The  aggregate  was  effected  by  the 
introduction,  and  still  more  by  the  exportation,  of 
slaves.  I  suppose  there  would  not  be  less,  probably 
more,  than  fiv^  thousand  to  be  transported  the  first 
year  of  the  operation  of  the  system ;  but  after  it  was 
in  progress  some  years,  there  would  be  a  constant 
diminution  of  the  number. 

«  Would  it  be  practicable  annually  to  transport  five 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  211 

thousand  persons  from  Kentucky?  There  cannot,  bo 
a  doubt  of  it —  or  even  a  much  larger  number.  We 
receive  from  Europe  annually  emigrants  to  an  amount 
exceeding  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  at  a  cost 
for  the  passage  ot  about  ten  dollars  per  head,  and  they 
embark  at  European  ports  more  distant  from  the 
United  States  than  the  western  coast  of  Africa.  It 
is  true  that  the  commercial  marine  employed  between 
Europe  and  the  United  States  affords  facilities  in  the 
transportation  of  emigrants  at  that  low  rate,  which 
that  engaged  in  the  commerce  between  Liberia  and 
this  country  does  not  now  supply.  But  that  com- 
merce is  increasing,  and  by  the  time  the  proposed 
system,  if  adopted,  would  go  into  operation,  it  will 
have  greatly  augmented.  If  there  were  a  certainty 
of  the  annual  transportation  of  not  less  than  five 
thousand  persons  to  Africa,  it  would  create  a  demand 
for  transports,  and  the  spirit  of  competition  would,  I 
have  no  doubt,  greatly  diminish  the  present  cost  of 
the  passage.  That  cost  has  been  stated,  including 
the  passage  and  six  months'  outfit  after  the  arrival 
of  the  emigrant  in  Africa.  Whatever  may  be  the 
cost,  and  whatever  the  number  to  be  transported,  the 
fund  to  be  raised  by  the  hire  of  the  liberated  slaves, 
for  a  period  not  exceeding  three  years,.,  will  be  amply 
sufficient.  The  annual  hire  on  the  average  may  be 
estimated  at  fifty  dollars,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  for  the  whole  term. 

"Colonization  will  be  attended  with  the  painful 
effect  of  the  separation  of  the  colonists  from  their 
parents,  and  in  some  instances  from  their  children ; 
but  from  the  latter  it  will  be  only  temporary,  as  they 


212  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

•will  follow  and  be  again  reunited.  Their  sepnrntion 
from  their  parents  will  not  be  until  after  they  have 
attained  a  mature  age,  nor  greater  than  voluntarily 
takes  place  with  emigrants  from  Europe,  who  k-ave 
their  parents  behind.  It  will  be  far  less  distressing 
than  what  frequently  occurs  in  the  state  of  slavery, 
and  will  be  attended  with  the  animating  encourage- 

o  o 

ment  that  the  colonists  are  transferred  from  a  land 
of  bondage  and  degradation,  for  them,  to  a  land  of 
liberty  and  equality. 

"And  the  expense  of  transporting  the  liberated 
slave  to  the  colony,  and  of  maintaining  him  there  for 
six  months,  I  think  ought  to  be  provided  for  by  a 
fund  derived  from  his  labor  in  the  manner  already 
indicated.  He  is  the  party  most  benefited  by  eman- 
cipation. It  would  not  be  right  to  subject  the  non- 
slaveholder  to  any  part  of  that  expense ;  and  the 
slaveholder  will  have  made  sufficient  sacrifices,  with- 
out being  exclusively  burdened  with  taxes  to  raise 
that  fund.  The  emancipated  slaves  could  be  hired 
out  for  the  time  proposed,  by  the  sheriff  or  other  pub- 
lic agent  in  each  county,  who  should  be  subject  to 
strict  accountability.  And  it  would  be  requisite  that 
there  should  be  kept  a  register  of  all  the  births  of  all 
children  of  color,  after  the  day  fixed  for  the  com- 
mencement of  the  system,  enforced  by  appropriate 
sanctions.  It  would  be  a  very  desirable  regulation  of 
law  to  have  births,  deaths,  and  marriages,  of  the  whole 
population  of  the  State,  registered  and  preserved,  as 
is  done  in  'most  well-governed  States. 

"  Among  other  considerations  which  unite  in  re- 
commending to  the  State  of  Kentucky  a  system  for 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  213 

the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery,  is  that  arising  out 
of  her  exposed  condition  affording  great  facilities  to 
the  escape  of  her  slaves  into  the  free  States  and  into 
Canada.  She  does  not  enjoy  the  security  which  some 
of  the  slave  States  have,  by  being  covered  in  depth 
by  two  or  three  slave  States  intervening  between 
them  and  free  States.  She  has  a  greater  length  of 
border  on  free  States  than  any  other  slave  State  in 
the  Union.  That  border  is  the  Ohio  River,  extend- 
ing from  the  mouth  of  Big  Sandy  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio,  a  distance  of  near  six  hundred  miles,  separating 
her  from  the  already  powerful  and  growing  States  of 
Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois.  Vast  numbers  of  slaves 
have  fled  from  most  of  the  counties  in  Kentucky, 
from  the  mouth  of  Big  Sandy  to  the  mouth  of  Miami, 
and  the  evil  has  increased  and  is  increasing.  At- 
tempts to  recover  the  fugitives  lead  to  most  painful 
and  irritating  collisions.  Hitherto  countenance  and 
assistance  to  the  fugitives  have  been  chiefly  afforded 
by  persons  in  the  State  of  Ohio;  but  it  is  to  be  ap- 
prehended, from  the  progressive  opposition  to  slavery, 
that,  in  process  of  time,  similar  facilities  to  the  escape 
of  slaves  would  be  found  in  the  States  of  Indiana  and 
Illinois.  By  means  of  railroads,  Canada  can  be 
reached  from  Cincinnati  in  a  little  more  than  twenty- 
four  hours. 

"In  the  event  of  a  civil  war  breaking  out,  or  in  the 
more  dreadful  event  of  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  in 
consequence  of  the  existence  of  slavery,  Kentucky 
would  become  the  theatre  and  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
war.  She  would  doubtless  defend  herself  with  her 
known  valor  and  gallantry ;  but  the  superiority  of 


214  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

the  numbers  by  which  she  would  be  opposed  would 
lay  waste  and  devastate  her  fair  fields.  Her  sister 
slave  States  would  fly  to  her  succor;  but  even  if 
they  should  be  successful  in  the  unequal  conflict,  she 
never  could  obtain  any  indemnity  for  the  inevitable 
ravages  of  the  war. 

"It  may  be  urged  that  we  ought  not,  by  the  gra- 
dual abolition  of  slavery,  to  separate  ourselves  from 
the  other  slave  States,  but  continue  to  share  with 
them  in  all  their  future  fortunes.  The  power  of  each 
slave  State,  within  its  limits,  over  the  institution  of 
slavery,  is  absolute,  supreme,  atid  exclusive  —  exclu- 
sive of  that  of  Congress  or  that  of  any  other  State. 
The  government  of  each  slave  State  is  bound  by  the 
highest  and  most  solemn  obligation  to  dispose  of  the 
question  of  slavery,  so  as  best  to  promote  the  peace, 
happiness,  and  prosperity  of  the  people  of  the  State. 
Kentucky  being  essentially  a  farming  State,  slave 
labor  is  less  profitable.  If,  in  most  of  the  other  slave 
States,  they  find  that  labor  more  profitable,  in  the 
culture  of  the  staples  of  cotton  and  sugar,  they  may 
perceive  a  reason  in  that  feeling  for  continuing  slavery 
which  cannot  be  expected  should  control  the  judg- 
ment of  Kentucky,  as  to  what  may  be  fitting  and 
proper  for  her  interests.  If  she  should  abolish  sla- 
very, it  would  be  her  duty,  and  I  trust  that  she  would 
be  as  ready,  as  she  now  is,  to  defend  the  slave  States 
in  the  enjoyment  of  all  their  lawful  and  constitutional 
rights.  Her  power,  political  and  physical,  would  be 
greatly  increased ;  for  one  hundred  and  ninety  odd 
thousand  slaves  and  their  descendants  would  be  gra- 
dually superseded  by  an  equal  number  of  white  in- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  215 

habitants,  who  would  be  estimated  per  capita,  and 
not  by  the  Federal  rule  of  three-fifths  prescribed  for 
the  colored  race  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

"  I  have  thus,  without  reserve,  freely  expressed  my 
opinion  and  presented  my  views.  The  interesting 
subject  of  which  I  have  treated  would  have  admitted 
of  much  enlargement,  but  I  have  desired  to  consult 
brevity.  The  plan  which  I  have  proposed  will 
hardly  be  accused  of  being  too  early  in  its  commence- 
ment, or  too  rapid  in  its  operation.  It  will  be  more 
likely  to  meet  with  contrary  reproaches.  If  adopted, 
it  is  to  begin  thirty -four  or  thirty-nine  years  from  the 
time  of  its  adoption,  as  the  one  period  or  the  other 
shall  be  selected  for  its  commencement.  How  long 
a  time  it  will  take  to  remove  all  the  colored  race  from 
the  State,  by  the  annual  transportation  of  each  year's 
natural  increase,  cannot  be  exactly  ascertained.  After 
the  system  had  been  in  operation  some  years,  I  think 
it  probable,  from  the  manifest  blessings  that  would 
flow  from  it,  from  the  diminished  value  of  slave  labor, 
and  from  the  humanity  and  benevolence  of  private 
individuals  prompting  a  liberation  of  their  slaves  and 
their  transportation,  a  general  disposition  would  exist 
to  accelerate  and  complete  the  work  of  colonization." 
The  prudent  and  mature  opinions  thus  expressed 
by  Mr.  Clay  in  reference  to  the  subject  of  slavery, 
proved  to  be  too  radical  and  precipitate  for  the  ma- 
jority of  the  delegates  in  the  Convention  ;  and  they 
were  not  adopted  and  realized.  The  utterance  of 
them,  however,  on  his  part,  demonstrated  the  interest 
which  he  took  in  the  subject,  and  his  desire  to  ad- 


216  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

vnnce  the  interests  of  his  constituents.  It  was  a 
worthy  prelude  to  his  last,  and  one  of  his  greatest 
efforts  in  the  United  States  Senate,  to  promote  the 
glorious  cause  of  rational  liberty,  by  his  memorable 
Compromise  Measures  of  1850. 

In  January  of  that  year  Mr.  Clay  rose  in  the 
Senate,  and  introduced  his  plan  for  the  adjustment  of 
the  differences  which  existed,  and  which  then  already 
agitated  the  whole  nation,  in  reference  to  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Territories,  and  the  future  prohibition 
of  slavery  in  them.  His  immediate  purpose  was  to 
exclude  slavery  from  all  the  Territories  acquired  by 
the  United  States  by  the  treaty  with  Mexico;  and  also 
to  exclude  it  from  New  Mexico,  should  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Texas  over  that  Territory  ever  afterward 
tend  to  its  introduction  there.  In  introducing  his 
resolutions  Mr.  Clay  accompanied  them  by  an  able 
speech,  the  tenor  and  spirit  of  which  may  be  inferred 
from  the  ensuing  extracts.  The  preamble  and  first 
resolution  were  as  follows: 

"It  being  desirable  for  the  peace,  concord,  and 
harmony  of  the  union  of  these  States,  to  settle  and 
adjust  amicably  all  existing  questions  of  controversy 
between  them  arising  out  of  Xhe  institution  of  sla- 
very, upon  a  fair,  equitable,  and  just  basis :  Therefore, 

"1st.  Resolved,  That  California,  with  suitable 
boundaries,  ought,  upon  her  application,  to  be  ad- 
mitted as  one  of  the  States  of  this  Union,  without  the 
imposition  by  Congress  of  any  restriction  in  any  re- 
spect to  the  exclusion  or  introduction  of  slavery 
within  those  boundaries. 

"Mr.  President,  it   must  be   acknowledged    that 


OF    II  K S  U  T    CLAY.  217 

e  lias  been  some  irregularity  in  the  movements 
which  have  terminated  in  the  adoption  of  a  Constitu- 
tion by  California,  and  in  the  expression  of  her  wish, 
not  y-it  formally  communicated  to  Congress,  it  is  true, 
but  which  may  be  anticipated  in  a  few  days,  to  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  Union  as  a  State.  There  has  been  some 
irregularity  in  the  manner  in  which  they  have  framed 
that  Constitution.  It  was  not  preceded  by  any  act 
of  Congress  authorizing  the  Convention,  and  desig- 
nating the  boundaries  of  the  proposed  State,  accord- 
ing to  all  the  early  practice  of  this  Government,  ac- 
cording to  all  the  cases  of  the  admission  of  new  States 
into  this  Union,  which  occurred,  I  think,  prior  to  that 
of  Michigan.  Michigan,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  was 
the  first  State  which,  unbidden,  unauthorized  by  any 
previous  act  of  Congress,  undertook  to  form  for  her- 
self a  Constitution,  and  to  knock  at  the  door  of  Con- 
gress, for  admission  into  the  Union.  I  recollect  that 
at  the  time  when  .Michigan  thus  presented  herself,  I 
was  opposed,  in  consequence  of  that  deviation  from 
the  early  practice  of  the  Government,  to  the  admis- 
sion. The  majority  determined  otherwise ;  and  it 
must  be  in  candor  admitted  by  all  men,  that  Cali- 
fornia has  much  more  reason  to  do  what  she  has 
done,  unsanctioued  and  unauthorized  by  a  previous 
act  of  Congress,  than  Michigan  had  to  do  what  she  did. 
"Sir,  notwithstanding  the  irregularity  of  the  ad- 
mission of  Michigan  into  the  Union,  it  has  been  a 
happy  event.  She  forms  now  one  of  the  bright  stars 
of  this  glorious  confederacy.  She  has  sent  here  to 
mingle  in  our  councils  Senators  and  Representatives 
. —  men  eminently  distinguished,  with  whom  we  may 
19 


218  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

all  associate  with  pride,  with  pleasure,  and  with  sat- 
isfaction. And  I  trust  that  if  California,  irregular  as 
ner  previous  action  may  have  been  in  the  adoption 
of  a  Constitution,  but  more  justifiable  than  was  the 
action  of  Michigan — if  she  also  shall  be  admitted,  as 
is  proposed  by  this  first  resolution,  with  suitable 
limits,  that  she,  too,  will  make  her  contribution  of 
wisdom,  of  patriotism,  and  of  good  feeling  to  this 
body,  in  order  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  this  great  and 
boundless  empire. 

"  The  resolution  proposes  her  admission  when  she 
applies  for  it.  There  is  no  intention  on  my  part  to 
anticipate  such  an  application,  but  I  thought  it  right 
to  present  this  resolution  as  a  part  of  the  general 
plan  which  I  propose  for  the  adjustment  of  these  un- 
happy difficulties. 

"The  second  resolution,  sir,  is  as  follows: 

"  2d.  Resolved,  That  as  slavery  does  not  exist  by 
law,  and  is  not  likely  to  be  introduced  into  any  of 
the  territory  acquired  by  the  United  States  from  the 
Republic  of  Mexico,  it  is  inexpedient  for  Congress  to 
provide  by  law  either  for  its  introduction  into  or  ex- 
clusion from  any  part  of  the  said  territory;  and  that 
appropriate  territorial  governments  ought  to  be  esta- 
blished by  Congress  in  all  of  the  said  territory,  not 
assigned  as  the  boundaries  of  the  proposed  State  of 
California,  without  the  adoption  of  any  restriction  or 
condition  on  the  subject  of  slavery. 

"This  resolution,  sir,  proposes,  in  the  first  instance, 
a  declaration  of  two  truths,  one  of  law  and  the  other 
of  fact.  The  truth  of  law  which  it  declares  is,  that 
there  does  not  exist  at  this  time,  slavery  within  any 


01?    HENRY    CLAY.  219 

portion  of  the  territory  acquired  by  the  United  States 
from  Mexico.  When  I  sa}*,  sir,  it  is  a  truth,  I  speak 
my  own  solemn  and  deliberate  conviction.  I  am 
aware  that  some  gentlemen  have  held  a  different 
doctrine;  but  I  persuade  myself  that  they  themselves, 
when  they  come  to  review  the  whole  ground,  will  see 
sufficient  reasons  for  a  change,  or  at  least  a  modifica- 
tion of  their  opinions;  but  that,  at  all  events,  if  they 
adhere  to  that  doctrine,  they  will  be  found  to  compose 
a  very  small  minority  of  the  whole  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States. 

"The  next  truth  which  the  resolution  asserts  is. 
that  slavery  is  not  likely  to  be  introduced  into  any 
portion  of  that  territory.  That  is  a  matter  of  fact ; 
and  all  the  evidence  upon  which  the  fact  rests,  is  per- 
haps as  accessible  to  other  Senators  as  it  is  to  me; 
but  I  must  say  that,  from  all  I  have  heard  or  read, 
from  the  testimony  of  all  the  witnesses  I  have  seen 
and  conversed  with,  from  all  that  has  transpired  and 
is  transpiring,  I  do  believe  that  not  within  one  foot 
of  the  territory  acquired  by  us  from  Mexico  will  sla- 
very ever  be  planted,  and  I  believe  it  could  not  be 
done  even  by  the  force  and  power  of  public  authority. 

"  Sir,  facts  are  daily  occurring  to  justify  me  in  this 
opinion.  Sir,  what  has  occurred  ?  And  upon  that 
subject,  and  indeed  upon  this  whole  subject,  I  invite 
Senators  from  the  free  States  especially  to  consider 
what  has  occurred  even  since  the  last  session  —  even 
since  the  commencement  of  this  session  —  since  they 
left  their  respective  constituencies,  without  an  oppor- 
tunity of  consulting  with  them  upon  that  great  and 
momentous  fact  —  the  fact  that  California  herself,  of 


-*20  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

which  it  was  asserted  and  predicted  that  she  never 
would  establish  slaver}'  within  her  limits  when  she 
came  to  be  admitted  as  a  State;  that  California  her- 
self, embracing,  of  all  other  portions  of  the  country 
acquired  by  us  from  Mexico,  that  country  into  which 
it  would  have  been  most  likely  that  slavery  should 
have  been  introduced;  that  California  herself  has  met 
in  convention,  and  by  a  unanimous  vote,  embracing 
in  that  body  slaveholders  from  the  State  of  Missis- 
sippi, as  well  as  from  other  parts,  who  concurred  in 
the  resolution  —  that  California  by  a  unanimous  vote, 
has  declared  against  the  introduction  of  slavery  within 
her  limits.  I  think,  then,  that  taking  this  leading 
fact  in  connection  with  all  the  evidence  we  have  from 
other  sources  on  the  subject,  I  am  warranted  in  the 
conclusion  which  constitutes  the  second  truth  which 
I  have  stated  in  this  resolution,  that  slavery  is  '  not 
likely  to  be  introduced  into  any  of  the  territory  ac- 
quired by  us  from  Mexico.' 

"Sir,  the  latter  part  of  the  resolution  asserts  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  Congress  to  establish  appropriate 
territorial  governments  within  all  the  country  acquired 
from  Mexico,  exclusive  of  California,  not  embracing 
in  the  acts  by  which  these  governments  shall  be  con- 
stituted, either  a  prohibition  or  an  admission  of  slavery. 

"Sir,  much  as  I  am  disposed  to  defer  to  high  au- 
thority, anxious  as  I  really  am  to  find  myself  in  a 
position  that  would  enable  me  to  co-operate  heartily 
with  the  other  departments  of  the  Government  in 
conducting  the  affairs  of  this  great  people,  I  must  say 
that  I  cannot  without  a  dereliction  of  duty  consent  to 
an  abandonment  of  them  without  government,  leav- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  221 

ing  them  to  all  those  scenes  of  disorder,  confusion, 
and  anarchy,  which,  I  apprehend,  in  respect  of  some 
of  them,  there  is  too  much  reason  to  anticipate  will 
arise.  Itjs  the  duty,  the  solemn — I  was  going  to  add 
the  most  sacred  —  duty  of  Congress  to  legislate  for 
their  government,  if  they  can,  and,  at  all  events,  to 
legislate  for  them,  and  to  give  them  the  benefit  of 
law,  and  order,  and  security. 

"The  next  resolutions  are  the  third  and  fourth, 
which,  having  an  immediate  connection  with  each 
other,  should  be  read  and  considered  together.  They 
are  as  follows: 

"  3d.  Resolved,  That  the  western  boundary  of  the 
State  of  Texas  ought  to  be  fixed  on  the  Rio  del  Norte, 
commencing  one  marine  league  from  its  mouth,  and 
running  up  that  river  to  the  southern  line  of  New 
Mexico ;  thence  with  that  line  eastwardly,  and  so 
continuing  in  the  same  direction  to  the  line  established 
between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  excluding  any 
portion  of  Xew  Mexico,  whether  lying  on  the  east  or 
west  of  that  river. 

"  4th.  Resolved,  That  it  be  proposed  to  the  State 
of  Texas,  that  the  United  States  will  provide  for  the 
payment  of  all  that  portion  of  the  legitimate  and  bona 
fide  public  debt  of  that  State,  contracted  prior  to  its 
annexation  to  the  United  States,  and  for  which  the 
duties  on  foreign  imports  were  pledged  by  the  said 
State  to  its  creditors,  not  exceeding  the  sum  of 

$- ,  in  consideration  of  the  said  dues  so  pledged 

having  been  no  longer  applicable  to  that  object  after 
the  said  annexation,  but  having  thenceforward  become 
payable  to  the  United  States;  and  upon  the  condition. 
19* 


222  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

also,  that  the  said  State  of  Texas  shall,  by  some  so- 
lemn and  authentic  act  of  her  Legislature,  or  of  a 
Convention,  relinquish  to  the  United  States  any  claim 
which  it  has  to  any  part  of  New  Mexico. 

"Mr.  President,  I  do  not  mean  now,  I  do  not  know 
that  I  shall  at  any  time  (it  is  a  very  complex  subject, 
and  one  not  free  from  difficulty)  to  go  into  the  ques- 
tion of  what  are  the  true  limits  of  Texas.  My  own 
opinion  is,  I  must  say,  without  intending  by  the  re- 
mark to  go  into  any  argument,  that  Texas  has  not  a 
good  title  to  any  portion  of  what  is  called  New  Mex- 
ico. And  yet,  sir,  I  am  free  to  admit  that,  looking  at 
the  grounds  which  her  representatives  assumed,  first 
in  the  war  with  Santa  Anna  in  1836,  then  at  what  trans- 
pired between  Mr.  Trist  and  the  Mexican  negotiators 
when  the  treaty  of  peace  was  negotiated,  and  then  the 
fact  that  the  United  States  have  acquired  all  the  coun- 
try which  Texas  claimed  as  constituting  a  portion  of 
her  territory ;  looking  at  all  these  facts,  but  without 
attaching  to  them,  either  together  or  separately,  the 
same  degree  of  force  which  gentlemen  who  think  that 
Texas  has  a  right  to  New  Mexico  do,  I  must  say  that 
there  is  plausibility,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  in  the  pre- 
tensions that  she  sets  up  to  New  Mexico.  I  do  not 
think  that  they  constitute  or  demonstrate  the  existence 
of  a  good  title,  but  a  plausible  one.  Well,  then,  sir, 
what  do  I  propose?  Without  entering  into  any  in- 
quiry whether  the  Nueces  or  the  Rio  Grande  was  the 
true  boundary  of  Texas,  I  propose,  by  the  first  of 
these  two  resolutions,  that  its  western  limits  shall  be 
fixed  on  the  Rio  del  Norte,  extending  west  from  the 
Sabiiie  to  the  mouth  of  the  liio  del  Norte,  and  that 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  223 

it  shall  follow  up  the  Bravo  or  the  Rio  del  Xorte,  to 
where  it  strikes  the  southern  line  of  New  Mexico, 
and  then,  diverging  from  that  line,  follow  on  in  that 
direction  until  it  reaches  the  line  as  fixed  hy  the 
United  States  and  Spain,  by  their  treaty  of  1819;  and 
thua  embracing  a  vast  country,  abundantly  competent 
to  form  two  or  three  States — a  country  which  I  think 
the  highest  ambition  of  her  greatest  men  ought  to  be 
satisfied  with  as  a  State  and  member  of  this  Union. 

"  The  fifth  resolution,  sir,  and  the  sixth,  like  the 
third  and  fourth,  are  somewhat  connected  together. 
They  are  as  follows : 

"5th.  Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient  to  abolish 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  whilst  that  insti- 
tution continues  to  exist  in  the  State  of  Maryland, 
without  the  consent  of  that  State,  without  the  consent 
'  of  the  people  of  the  District,  and  without  just  com- 
pensation to  the  owners  of  slaves  within  the  District. 

"6th.  But  Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  pro- 
hibit within  the  District  the  slave-trade,  in  slaves 
brought  into  it  from  States  or  places  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  District,  either  to  be  sold  therein  as  merchan- 
dise, or  to  be  transported  to  other  markets,  without 
the  District  of  Columbia. 

"The  first  of  these  resolutions,  Mr.  President,  in 
somewhat  different  language,  asserts  substantially  no 
other  principle  than  that  which  was  asserted  by  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  twelve  years  ago,  upon 
resolutions  which  I  then  offered,  and  which  passed  — 
at  least  the  particular  resolution  passed  —  by  a  majo- 
rity of  four-fifths  of  the  Senate.  I  allude  to  the  reso- 
lution presented  by  me  in  1838.  I  shall  not  enlarge 


224  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

on  that  resolution ;  it  speaks  for  itself;  it  declares 
that  the  institution  of  slavery  should  not  be  abolished 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  without  the  concurrence 
of  three  conditions;  first,  the  assent  of  Maryland ; 
second,  the  assent  of  the  people  within  the  District : 
and  third,  compensation  to  the  owners  of  the  slaves 
within  the  District  for  their  property. 

"The  next  resolution  proposed  deserves  a  passing 
remark.  It  is  that  the  slave-trade  within  the  District 
ought  to  be  abolished,  prohibited.  I  do  not  mean  by 
that  the  alienation  and  transfer  of  slaves  from  the  in- 
habitants within  this  District — the  sale  by  one  neigh- 
bor to  another  of  a  slave  which  the  one  owns  and  the 
other  wants,  that  a  husband  may  perhaps  be  put 
along  with  his  wife,  or  a  wife  with  her  husband.  I 
do  not  mean  to  touch  at  all  the  question  of  the  right 
of  property  in  slaves  among  persons  living  within  the 
District ;  but  the  slave-trade  to  which  I  refer  was,  I 
think,  pronounced  an  abomination  more  than  forty 
years  ago,  by  one  of  the  most  gifted  and  distinguished 
sons  of  Virginia,  the  late  Mr.  Randolph.  And  who 
is  there  who  is  not  shocked  at  its  enormity?  Sir,  it 
is  a  great  mistake  at  the  North,  if  they  suppose  that 
gentlemen  living  in  the  slave  States  look  upon  one 
who  is  a  regular  trader  in  slaves  with  any  particular 
favor  or  kindness.  They  are  often  —  sometimes  un- 
justly, perhaps — excluded  from  social  intercourse.  I 
have  known  some  memorable  instances  of  this  sort. 
But,  then,  what  is  this  trade?  It  is  a  good  deal 
limited  since  the  retrocession  of  that  portion  of  the 
District  formerly  belonging  to  Virginia.  There  are 
Alexandria,  Richmond,  Petersburg,  and  Norfolk, 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  225 

south  of  the  Potomac,  and  Baltimore,  Annapolis, 
and  perhaps  other  ports,  north  of  the  Potomac.  Let 
the  slave-dealer,  who  chooses  to  collect  his  slaves  in 
Virginia  and  Maryland,  go  to  these  places;  let  him 
not  come  here  and  establish  his  jails,  and  put  on  his 
chains,  and  sometimes  shock  the  sensibilities  of  our 
nature  by  a  long  train  of  slaves  passing  through  that 
avenue  leading  from  this  Capitol  to  the  house  of  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  one  of  the  most  glorious  repub- 
lics that  ever  existed.  Why  should  he  not  do  it  ? 
Sir,  I  am  sure  I  speak  the  sentiments  of  every  South- 
ern man,  and  every  man  coming  from  the  slave  State?, 
when  I  say  let  it  terminate,  and  that  it  is  an  abomi- 
nation;  and  there  is  no  occasion  for  it;  it  ought  no 
longer  to  be  tolerated. 

"The  seventh  resolution  relates  to  a  subject  em- 
braced in  a  bill  now  under  consideration  by  the  Sen- 
ate. It  is  as  follows  : 

"7th.  Resolved,  That  more  effectual  provision 
ought  to  be  made  by  law,  according  to  the  require- 
ment of  the  Constitution,  for  the  restitution  and  de- 
livery of  persons  bound  to  service  or  labor  in  any 
State  who  may  escape  into  any  other  State  or  Terri- 
tory in  the  Union. 

"Sir,  that  is  so  evident,  and  has  been  so  clearly 
shown  by  the  debate  which  has  already  taken  place 
on  the  subject,  that  I  have  not  now  occasion  to  add 
another  word. 

"  The  last  resolution  of  the  series  of  eight  is  as 
follows: 

"And  8th.  Resolved,  That  Congress  has  no  power 
to  prohibit  or  obstruct  the  trade  in  slaves  between  the 

P 


226  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

slaveholding  States;  but  that  the  admission  or  exclu- 
Bion  of  slaves  brought  from  one  into  another  of  them, 
depends  exclusively  upon  their  own  particular  laws. 

"It  is  obvious  that  no  legislation  is  necessary  or 
intended  to  follow  that  resolution.  It  merely  asserts 
a  truth,  established  by  the  highest  authority  of  law  in 
this  country ;  and,  in  conformity  with  that  decision,  I 
trust  there  will  be  one  universal  acquiescence. 

"I  should  not  have  thought  it  necessary  to  embrace 
in  that  resolution  the  declaration  which  is  embraced 
in  it,  but  that  I  thought  it  might  be  useful  in  treating 
of  the  whole  subject,  and  in  accordance  wiih  the 
practice  of  our  British  and  American  ancestors,  occa- 
sionally to  resort  to  great  fundamental  principles, 
and  bring  them  freshly  and  manifestly  before  our 
eyes,  from  time  to  time,  to  avoid  their  being  violated 
upon  any  occasion. 

"Mr.  President,  you  have  before  you  the  whole 
Beries  of  resolutions,  the  whole  scheme  of  arrange- 
ment and  accommodation  of  these  distracting  ques- 
tions, which  I  have  to  offer,  after  having  bestowed  on 
these  subjects  the  most  anxious,  intensely  anxious, 
consideration  ever  since  I  have  been  in  this  body. 
How  far  it  may  prove  acceptable  to  both  or  either  of 
the  parties  on  these  great  questions,  it  is  not  for  me 
to  say.  I  think  it  ought  to  be  acceptable  to  both. 
There  is  no  sacrifice  of  any  principle  proposed  in  any 
of  them,  by  either  part}*.  The  plan  is  founded  upon 
mutual  forbearance,  originating  in  a  spirit  of  concili- 
ation and  concession ;  not  of  principles,  but  of  mat- 
ters of  feeling.  At  the  North,  sir,  I  know  that  from 
feeling,  by  many  at  least  cherished  as  beiug  dictated 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  227 

by  considerations  of  humanity  and  philanthropy, 
there  exists  a  sentiment  adverse  to  the  institution  of 
slavery." 

The  Compromise  Measures  thus  proposed  and  de- 
fended by  Mr.  Clay,  were  discussed  with  great  ability 
and  zeal  by  the  leading  members  of  the  Senate. 
They  were  opposed  both  by  Northern  and  Southern 
Senators,  on  different  grounds,  but  with  equal  ear- 
nestness. Mr.  Clay  replied  to  all  their  arguments 
with  much  ability  ;  the  splendors  of  his  mellifluous 
eloquence  still  shone  forth,  as  iii  the  olden  time,  and 
charmed  and  delighted  those  unbending  opponents 
whose  opinions  he  could  not  change,  whose  votes  he 
could  not  control.  A  committee  was  at  length  ap- 
pointed, on  the  14th  of  February,  for  the  purpose  of 
maturing  some  plan  of  compromise  more  acceptable 
to  the  majority  than  Mr.  Clay's  resolutions;  and  he 
was  appointed  Chairman.  On  the  8th  of  May  he 
offered  an  elaborate  report  from  the  majority  of  the 
committee,  which  differed  in  some  essential  respects 
from  those  originally  offered  by  him.  Its  propositions 
were  as  follows : 

"1.  The  admission  of  any  new  State  or  States 
formed  out  of  Texas  to  be  postponed  until  they  shall 
hereafter  present  themselves  to  be  received  into  the 
Union,  when  it  will  be  the  duty  of  Congress  fairly 
and  faithfully  to  execute  the  compact  with  Texas,  by 
admitting  such  new  State  or  States  with  or  without 
slavery,  as  they  shall  by  their  Constitutions  determine. 

"2.  The  admission  forthwith  of  California  into  the 
Union,  with  the  boundaries  which  she  has  proposed. 

"3.  The  establishment  of  territorial  government! 


228  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

without  the  "VVilmot  Proviso  for  New  Mexico  .  «id 
Utah,  embracing  all  the  Territory  recently  acquired 
by  the  United  States  from  Mexico,  not  contained  in 
the  boundaries  of  California. 

"4.  The  combination  of  these  two  last-mentioned 
measures  in  the  same  bill. 

"5.  The  establishment  of  the  western  and  north 
ern  boundary  of  Texas,  and  the  exclusion  from  her 
jurisdiction  of  all  New  Mexico,  with  the  grant  to 
Texas  of  a  pecuniary  equivalent;  and  the  section  for 
that  purpose  to  be  incorporated  into  the  bill  admit- 
ting  California,  and  establishing  territorial  govern- 
ments for  Utah  and  New  Mexico. 

"  6.  More  effectual  enactments  to  secure  the  prompt 
delivery  of  persons  bound  to  service  or  labor  in  one 
State,  under  the  laws  thereof,  who  escape  into  an- 
other State.  And, 

"  7.  Abstaining  from  abolishing  slavery;  but,  under 
a  heavy  penalty,  prohibiting  the  slave-trade  in  the 
District  of  Columbia." 

The  debate  which  ensued  in  the  discusion  of  these 
measures,  was  one  of  the  longest  and  fiercest  which 
lias  ever  occurred  in  the  annals  of  Federal  legislation. 
It  continued  during  nearly  three  months.  Till  the 
last,  Mr.  Clay  defended  his  policy  with  heroic  reso- 
lution ;  but  all  was  in  vain.  Various  amendments 
were  successively  introduced,  and  passed,  which 
stripped  the  bill  of  nearly  all  its  original  features; 
and  the  only  clause  which  remained  unaltered  was 
one  providing  for  the  organization  of  the  territory  of 
Utah.  Thus  ended  the  celebrated  Compromise  Mea- 
sures proposed  by  Mr.  Clay  in  1850 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  229 


CHAPTER  XT. 

»H.  CLAY'S  TIEWS  OF  THE  TARIFF  OF  1846  —  THE  HARBOR  AND  RIVRR 
BILL — MR.  CLAY'S  INTEREST  IN  ITS  PASSAGE — TACTICS  OF  THE  OPPO- 
SITION—  MR.  CLAY'S  APPEALS  ON  THE  SUBJECT  —  ULTIMATE  DEFEAT 

OF  THE  BILL — MR.  CLAY'S  LAST  VISIT  TO  ASHLAND HIS  RETURN  TO 

WASHINGTON — HIS  INTERVIEW  WITH  KOSSUTH — HIS  LAST  SICKNESS 
HIS  DEATH  —  THAT  EVENT  ANNOUNCED  IN  CONGRESS. 

THOUGH  the  burden  of  years  had  now  accumulated 
heavily  on  the  shoulders  of  Mr.  Clay,  he  nevertheless 
exhibited  his  usual  energy  and  interest  in  public 
affairs.  After  the  defeat  of  his  Compromise  Mea- 
sures in  1850,  he  visited  his  home  and  family  in  Ken- 
tucky ;  and  returned  to  Washington  on  the  15th  of 
December,  a  few  days  after  the  opening  of  the  second 
session  of  the  Thirty-first  Congress.  At  this  period 
he  felt  an  earnest  desire  to  have  the  Tariff  of  1846 
revised  and  amended,  in  order  that  greater  protection 
might  thereby  be  given  to  American  manufactures. 
On  the  23d  of  that  month  he  presented  some  petitions 
on  the  subject  to  the  Senate,  and  accompanied  them 
with  an  earnest  and  practical  argument. 

But  the  last,  measure  of  importance  in  which  the 
veteran  statesman  took  an  active  part,  was  the  bill 
making  appropriations  for  the  improvement  of  cer- 
tain harbors  and  rivers,  which  had  passed  the  House 
ot  Representatives,  and  was  sent  into  the  Senate  for 
20 


230  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

its  approval.  The  bill  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Commerce,  and  reported  back  without  any  amend- 
ment. It  was  on  the  1st  of  March,  1851,  and  only 
three  days  of  the  session  remained.  It  was  therefore 
necessary  that  it  should  pass  at  once,  if  passed  at  all ; 
inasmuch  as  the  appropriations  for  the  civil  and  diplo» 
mntic  service,  and  other  necessary  measures,  would 
occupy  nearly  all  the  remaining  short  interval.  The 
river  and  harbor  bill  was  regarded  as  a  party  measure, 
introduced,  supported,  and  approved  by  the  Whigs; 
the  Democratic  Senators,  therefore,  resolved  to  defeat 
it,  by  that  species  of  tactics  well  known  to  delibera- 
tive assemblies  under  such  circumstances;  to  wit,  the 
wasting  of  all  the  time  of  the  session  in  protracted 
speeches,  innumerable  amendments,  and  reiterated 
and  endless  debate,  by  the  party  in  the  minority. 

Mr.  Clay  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  passage  of  this 
bill,  which  seemed  to  him  highly  promotive  of  the 
interests  of  the  country.  The  motion  to  discuss  the 
bill  having  passed,  Mr.  Davis  of  Massachusetts  com- 
menced the  argument  by  a  brief  speech  in  its  favor. 
Mr.  Clemens  of  Alabama  responded,  and  the  purpose 
of  the  opposition  members  at  once  became  apparent. 
Mr.  Clay  arose  and  earnestly  protested  against  such  a 
policy,  and  proceeded  to  demonstrate  the  advantage 
and  necessity  of  passing  the  bill.  Said  he: 

"Sir,  I  have  risen  to  say  to  the  friends  of  this  hill, 
that  if  they  desire  it  to  pass,  I  trust  the}1  will  vote 
with  me  against  all  amendments,  and  come  to  as 
speedy  and  rapid  action  as  possible.  Under  the  idea 
of  an  amendment,  you  will  gain  nothing.  I  think  it 
likelv  there  are  some  items  that  should  not  be  in  the 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  231 

bill ;  and  can  you  expect  in  any  human  -work,  \vhere 
fhere  are  forty  or  fifty  items  to  be  passed  upon,  to 
find  perfection  ?  If  you  do,  you  expect  what  never 
was  done,  and  what  you  will  never  see.  I  shall  vote 
for  the  bill  for  the  sake  of  the  good  that  is  in  it,  and 
not  against  it  on  account  of  the  bad  it  happens  to 
contain.  I  am  willing  to  take  it  as  a  man  takes  his 
wife,  'for  better,  for  worse,'  believing  we  shall  be 
much  more  happy  with  it  than  without  it. 

"An  honorable  Senator  has  gotten  up  and  told  us 
that  here  is  an  appropriation  of  $2,800,000.  Do  you 
not  recollect  that  for  the  last  four  or  five  years  there 
have  been  no  appropriations  at  all  upon  this  subject? 
Look  at  the  ordinary  appropriation  in  1837  of 
§1,307,000;  for  it  is  a  most  remarkable  fact  that 
those  administrations  most  hostile  to  the  doctrine  of 
internal  improvements,  have  been  precisely  those  in 
which  the  most  lavish  expenditures  have  been  made. 
Thus  we  are  told,  this  morning,  that  there  were  five, 
six,  or  eisrht  hundred  thousand  dollars  during  Gene- 

*  O  O 

ral  Jackoon's  administration,  and  §1,300,000  during 
the  firpt  year  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's.  Now,  there  has 
been  no  appropriation  during  the  last  three  or  four 
years,  and,  in  consequence  of  this  delinquency  and 
neglect  on  the  part  of  Congress  heretofore,  because 
some  §2,300,000  are  to  be  appropriated  by  this  bill, 
we  are  t:>  be  startled  by  the  financial  horrors  and  dif- 
ficulties which  have  been  presented,  and  driven  from 
the  duly  which  we  ought  to  pursue.  With  regard  to 
the  appropriations  made  for  that  portion  of  the  coun- 
try from  which  I  come— the  great  Valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi— I  will  say  that  we  are  a  reasoning  people,  a 


232  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

feeling  people,  and  a  contrasting  people ;  and  how 
long  will  it  be  before  the  people  of  this  vast  valley 
will  rise  en  masse  and  trample  down  your  little  hair- 
splitting distinctions  about  what  is  national,  and 
demand  what  is  just  and  fair,  on  the  part  of  this 
Government,  in  relation  to  their  great  interests? 
The  Mississippi,  with  all  its  tributaries — the  Red, 
Wabash,  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  and  Ohio  rivers  — 
constitute  a  part  of  a  great  system,  and  if  that  system 
be  not  national,  I  should  like  to  know  one  that  ia 
national.  We  are  told  here  that  a  little  work,  great 
in  its  value,  one  for  which  I  shall  vote  with  great 
pleasure — the  breakwater  in  the  little  State  of  Dela- 
ware—  is  a  great  national  work,  while  a  work  which 
has  for  its  object  the  improvement  of  that  vast  system 
of  rivers  which  constitute  the  Valley  of  the  ^lissis- 
sippi,  which  is  to  save  millions  and  millions  of  pro- 
perty and  many  human  lives,  is  not  a  work  to  be 
done,  because  it  is  not  national !  Why,  look  at  the 
appropriations.  Here  was  our  young  sister,  Cali- 
fornia, admitted  but  the  other  day ;  §1,500,000  for  a 
basin  there  to  improve  her  facilities,  and  how  much 
more  for  custom  houses?  Four  or  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  more  in  that  single  State  for  two 
objects  than  the  totality  of  the  sum  proposed  to  be 
appropriated  here.  Around  the  margin  of  the  coast 
of  the  Atlantic,  the  Mexican  Gulf,  and  the  Pacing 
coast,  everywhere  we  pour  out,  in  boundless  and  mi 
measured  streams,  the  treasure  of  the  United  States, 
but  none  to  the  interior  of  the  West,  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi  —  every  cent  is  contested  and  denied  for 
that  object.  Will  not  our  people  draw  the  contrast  / 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  233 

Talk  about  commerce !  we  have  all  sorts  of  com- 
merce. I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  do- 
mestic commerce  of  the  Lakes  and  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  is  greatly  superior  in  magnitude  and  im- 
portance to  all  the  foreign  commerce  of  the  country, 
for  which  these  vast  expenditures  are  made.  Sir,  I 
call  upon  the  Northwestern  Senators,  upon  Western 
Senators,  upon  Eastern  Senators,  upon  Senators  from 
all  quarters  of  the  Union,  to  recollect  that  we  are 
parts  of  one  common  country,  and  that  we  cannot 
endure  to  see,  from  month  to  month,  from  day  to  day, 
in  consequence  of  the  existence  of  snags  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi, which  can  be  removed  at  a  trifling  expense, 
hundreds  of  lives  and  millions  of  property  destroyed, 
in  consequence  of  the  destruction  of  the  boats  navi- 
gating these  rivers,  for  the  want  of  some  little  appli- 
cation of  the  means  of  our  common  Government." 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Clay's  earnest  appeal  to  the 
opposing  Senators  to  permit  the  bill  to  be  voted 
upon,  they  persisted  in  the  policy  which  they  had 
begun.  Messrs.  Foote,  Gwin,  Butler,  Bradbury,  Hun- 
ter, Soule,  and  others,  were  delivered  of  protracted 
arguments  on  the  subject;  a  number  of  amendments 
were  offered,  discussed,  and  then  withdrawn;  the 
yeas  and  nays  were  repeatedly  called  for  and  'reca- 
pitulated ;  until  at  length  the  session  expired,  with- 
out a  final  vote  having  been  reached.  This  was,  in 
fact,  the  virtual  death  and  defeat  of  the  measure. 

After  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  Mr.  Clay  again 

returned   to  Kentucky.     He   spent   the   summer  at 

Ashland,   surrounded  by  his   friends  and  relatives. 

His  health  still  remained  good,  although  the  general 

20* 


THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

vigor  of  his  constitution  was  evidently  failing.     The 
aged  patriot  nevertheless  prepared,  as  the  opening  of 
the  ensuing  session  approached,  to  return  to  Wash- 
ington, and  resume  his  duties  as  Senator  from  Ken- 
tucky.    He  bade  adieu  to  his  home  and  family  —  it 
proved   to   be   his   last   farewell  —  and   reached   the 
Federal  capital  at  the  commencement  of  the  second 
term  of  the  Thirty-second  Congress.    But  the  fatigues 
of  the  journey  had  proved  too  much  for  his  strength, 
and  he  was  unable  to  appear  in  the  Senate.     His  end 
was  at  length  approaching.     Several  weeks  after  his 
arrival,  an  interesting  interview  took  place  between 
Mr.  Clay,  who  was  closely  confined  to  his  room,  and 
Louis   Kossuth,   the   Hungarian    patriot.     Mr.  Clay 
fully   appreciated   the   superior   merits   and   exalted 
abilities  of  that  distinguished  personage,  and  received 
him  with  that  consideration  which  he  deserved.    Dur- 
ing this  interview  he  expressed  the  sympathy  which 
he  felt  with  Hungary  in  her  efforts  to  attain  her  liber- 
ties; but  at  the  same  time  stated  his  objections  to 
furnishing   that   material    aid   which   Gov.  Kossuth 
urged  that  the   United   States  Government   should 
afford  against  the  detestable  tyrants  of  Austria  and 
Russia.     He  explained  how  the  policj-  of  our  Govern- 
ment, from  the  administration  of  Washington  down- 
ward, had  invariably  been,  not  to  interfere  with  the 
tangled  and  intricate  web  of  European  affairs;  and 
he  counselled  that,  even  in  this  instance,  we  should 
not  depart  from  it.     Though  much  disappointed,  in 
this  respect,  with  the  views  of  Mr.  Clay,  the  Hunga- 
rian hero  failed  not  to  appreciate  the  earnestness, 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  235 

arid    patriotism   which    characterized   his 
opinions  on  this  subject,  and  his  utterance  of  them. 

But  the  end  of  this  wonderful  man  had  at  last 
arrived — his  long  and  memorable  career  had  reached 
its  calm  and  peaceful  termination.  His  strength 
rapidly  diminished,  and  at  length  he  was  confined  to 
his  bed.  He  was  harassed  by  a  distressing  and  pain- 
ful cough,  and  he  became  much  emaciated.  During 
the  progress  of  his  disease  he  held  frequent  inter- 
views with  the  chaplain  of  the  Senate;  and  his  mind 
seemed  to  be  fully  prepared  for  the  solemn  and  mys- 
terious change  which  he  was  so  soon  to  experience. 
He  was  attended  by  the  prompt  and  assiduous  care 
of  devoted  friends,  one  of  his  sons  being  almost  con- 
tinually at  his  bedside.  At  length,  on  the  29th  of 
June,  1852,  at  11  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  his  breath- 
ing became  fainter  and  fainter,  till  it  ceased  entirely; 
but  so  gradually  and  gently,  that  the  moment  of  his 
departure  was  scarcely  known.  That  eloquent  voice 
was  then  hushed  forever.  That  gigantic  intellect  and 
noble  soul  had  quitted  its  tenement  of  clay,  and 
soared  to  other  worlds  to  explore  the  mysteries  of  a 
future  and  eternal  state  of  being. 

The  two  Houses  of  Congress  convened  at  12 
o'clock,  but  already  the  news  of  Mr.  Clay's  death  had 
been  communicated  through  the  capital ;  and  before 
the  clerk  of  the  Senate  began  the  reading  of  the  jour- 
nal, Mr.  Hunter  of  Virginia  rose  and  sajd,  that  the 
report  of  Mr.  Clay's  death  had  been  circulated,  and 
lie  moved  that  the  House  should  adjourn.  A  similar 
motion  was  made  and  carried  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. These  were  but  mere  matters  of  form 


286  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

and  ceremony.  The  death  of  Henry  Clay  produced 
a  profound  impression  of  regret  throughout  the  whole 
Confederacy,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Koeky  Moun- 
tains, from  the  bleak  hills  of  Maine  to  the  balmy  cot- 
ton-fields of  Louisiana.  No  statesman  ever  departed, 
in  this  country,  since  the  death  of  Washington,  whose 
decease  was  so  universally  regretted ;  for  it  may 
without  exaggeration  be  asserted,  that  no  other  pub- 
lic man  in  the  nation,  save  "the  Father  of  his  Coun- 
try," ever  possessed  so  strong  a  hold  upon  the  sym- 
pathies and  admiration  of  so  large  a  proportion  of 
the  community,  of  various  parties,  sects  and  creeds. 


OF    HENBY    CLAY.  237 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

HENRY  CLAY'S   OBSEQUIES  AT  WASHINGTON  —  REMARKS  OP  MR.  UN- 
DERWOOD  EULOGY   PRONOUNCED   BY   MR.  SEWARD THE  ADDRESS 

OF  MR.  BRECKENRIDGE  —  RELIGIOUS  SERVICES  IN  THE  SENATE 
CHAMBER  —  THE  REMAlSi  CONVEYED  TO  LEXINGTON  —  THEIR  RE- 
CEPTION THERE  —  INTENSE  POPULAR  FEELING  —  ADDRESSES — MAS- 
TERLY EULOGY  BY  MR.  CRITTENDEN. 

ON  the  30th  of  June,  1852,  a  solemn  and  imposing 
scene  was  presented  in  the  Senate  chamber  at  Wash- 
ington. In  it  was  assembled  all  that  was  great  and 
illustrious  in  the  Federal  capital;  —  the  members 
of  both  Houses,  the  Cabinet  Ministers,  the  heads  of 
bureaux,  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  many 
eminent  private  persons  crowded  the  apartment.  The 
chaplain  of  the  Senate  commenced  the  proceedings 
with  prayer.  Afterward  the  journal  was  read ;  and 
then  the  theme  which  engrossed  and  saddened  all 
hearts,  called  forth  the  eloquent  utterances  and  eulo- 
gies of  many  of  the  most  gifted  Representatives  in 
the  land.  The  American  people,  bereaved  by  death 
of  their  favorite  patriot  and  statesman,  were  about  to 
utter  their  griefs,  and  at  the  same  "time  to  bestow  their 
benedictions  upon  his  memory,  through  the  lips  of 
those  who  had  been  his  honored  associates. 

Mr.  Underwood  of  Kentucky,  the  colleague  of  Mr. 


238  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

Clay,  first  arose,  and  formally  announced  the  fact  of 
his  death.  He  then  proceeded  to  dwell  upon  the 
character  and  merits  of  the  deceased.  His  remarks 
were  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  departed  patriot,  and  con- 
cluded with  the  offering  of  appropriate  resolutions. 
He  was  followed  by  Mr.  Cass,  whose  impressive  and 
eloquent  address  was  as  follows: 

"Mr.  President:  Again  has  an  impressive  warning 
come  to  teach  us  that  in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in 
death.  The  ordinary  labors  of  this  Hall  are  sus- 
pended, and  its  contentions  hushed,  before  the  power 
of  Him  who  says  to  the  storm  of  human  passions,  as 
He  said  of  old  to  the  waves  of  Galilee,  'PEACE,  BE 
STILL.'  The  lessons  of  His  Providence,  severe  as  they 
may  be,  often  become  merciful  dispensations,  like 
that  which  is  now  spreading  sorrow  through  the  land, 
and  which  Is  reminding  us  that  we  have  higher  du- 
ties to  fulfil,  and  graver  responsibilities  to  encounter, 
than  those  that  meet  us  here,  when  we  lay  our  handj 
upon  His  holy  word,  and  invoke  His  holy  name,  pro- 
mising to  be  faithful  to  that  Constitution  which  He 
gave  us  in  His  mercy,  and  will  withdraw  only  in  the 
hour  of  our  blindness  and  disobedience,  and  of  Ilia 
own  wrath. 

"Another  great  man  has  fallen  in  our  land,  ripe 
indeed  in  years  and  in  honors,  but  never  dearer  to 
the  American  people  than  when  called  from  the  thea- 
tre of  his  services  and  renown,  to  that  final  bar  where 
the  lot'tj  and  the  lowly  must  all  meet  at  last. 

"I  do  not  rise  upon  this  mournful  occasion  to  in- 
dulge in  the  language  of  panegyric.  My  regard  for 
the  memory  of  the  dead,  and  for  the  obligations  of 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  239 

the  living,  would  equally  rebuke  such,  a  course.  The 
severity  of  truth  is  at  once  our  proper  duty  and  our 
best  consolation.  Born  during  the  Revolutionary 
struggle,  our  deceased  associate  was  one  of  the  few 
remaining  public  men  who  connect  the  present  gene- 
ration with  the  actors  in  the  trying  scenes  of  that 
eventful  period,  and  whose  names  and  deeds  will  soon 
be  known  only  in  the  history  of  their  country.  Ho 
was  another  illustration,  and  a  noble  one,  too,  of  the 
glorious  equality  of  our  institutions,  which  freely  oifer 
all  their  rewards  to  all  who  justly  seek  them  ;  for  he 
was  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune,  having  made  his 
way  in  life  by  self-exertion ;  and  he  was  an  early 
adventurer  in  the  great  forest  of  the  West,  then  a 
world  of  primitive  vegetation,  but  now  the  abode  of 
intelligence  and  religion,  of  prosperity  and  civiliza- 
tion. 

"But  he  possessed  that  intellectual  superiority 
which  overcomes  surrounding  obstacles,  and  which 
local  seclusion  cannot  long  withhold  from  general 
knowledge  and  appreciation.  It  is  almost  half  a  cen- 
tury since  he  passed  through  Chilicothe,  then  the  seat 
of  government  of  Ohio,  where  I  was  a  member  of  the 
Legislature,  on  his  way  to  take  his  place  in  this  very 
body,  which  is  now  listening  to  this  reminiscence,  and 
to  a  feeble  tribute  of  regard  from  one  who  then  saw 
him  for  the  first  time,  but  who  can  never  forget  the 
impression  he  produced  by  the  charms  of  his  conver- 
sation, the  frankness  of  his  manner,  and  the  high 
qualities  with  which  he  was  endowed.  Since  then  he 
has  belonged  to  his  country,  and  has  taken  a  part, 
and  a  prominent  part,  both  in  peace  and  war,  in  all 


240  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

the  great  questions  affecting  her  interests  and  her 
honor ;  and  though  it  has  been  my  fortune  often  to 
differ  from  him,  yet  I  believe  he  was  as  pure  a  patriot 
as  ever  participated  in  the  councils  of  a  nation,  anx- 
ious for  the  public  good,  and  seeking  to  promote  it 
during  all  the  vicissitudes  of  a  long  and  eventful  life. 
That  he  exercised  a  powerful  influence  within  the 
sphere  of  his  action,  through  the  whole  country,  in- 
deed we  all  feel  and  know  ;  and  we  know,  too,  the 
eminent  endowments  which  gave  him  this  high  dis- 
tinction. Frank  and  fearless  in  the  expression  of  his 
opinions,  and  in  the  performance  of  his  duties — with 
rare  powers  of  eloquence,  which  never  failed  to  rivet 
the  attention  of  his  auditory,  and  which  always  com- 
manded admiration,  even  when  they  did  not  carry 
conviction  —  prompt  in  decision  and  firm  in  action, 
and  with  a  vigorous  intellect,  trained  in  the  contests 
of  a  stirring  life,  and  strengthened  by  enlarged  expe- 
rience and  observation,  joined  withal  to  an  ardent 
love  of  country,  and  to  great  purity  of  purpose — these 
were  the  elements  of  his  power  and  success.  And  we 
dwell  upon  them  with  mournful  gratification,  now 
when  we  shall  soon  follow  him  to  the  cold  and  silent 
tomb,  where  we  shall  commit  earth  to  earth,  ashes  to 
ashes,  dust  to  dust,  but  with  the  blessed  conviction  of 
the  truth  of  that  Divine  revelation,  which  teaches  us 
that  there  is  life  and  hope  bey-nd  the  narrow  house, 
where  we  shall  leave  him  alone  to  the  mercy  of  his 
God  and  of  ours. 

"He  has  passed  beyond  the  iea<^h  of  human  praise 
or  censure;  but  the  judgment  of  his  contemporaries 
Las  preceded  and  pronounced  the  judgment  of  his- 


CF    HENRY    CLAY.  241 

tory,  and  his  name  and  fame  will  shed  lustre  upon  his 
country,  and  will  be  proudly  cherished  in  the  hearts 
of  his  countrymen  for  long  ages  to  come.  Yes,  they 
will  be  cherished  and  freshly  remembered  when  these 
marble  columns  that  surround  us,  so  often  the  wit- 
nesses of  his  triumphs,  but  in  a  few  brief  hours,  when 
his  mortal  frame,  despoiled  of  the  immortal  spirit, 
shall  rest  under  this  dome  for  the  last  time,  to  become 
the  witnesses  of  his  defeat  in  that  final  contest  where 
the  mightiest  fall  before  the  great  destroyer  —  when 
these  marble  columns  shall  themselves  have  fallen, 
like  all  the  \vorks  of  man,  leaving  their  broken  frag- 
ments to  tell  the  story  of  former  magnificence,  amid 
the  very  ruins  which  announce  decay  and  desolation. 
"  I  was  often  with  him  during  his  last  illness,  when 
the  world,  and  the  things  of  the  world,  were  fast  fad- 
ing away  before  him.  He  knew  that  the  silver  cord 
was  almost  loosed,  and  that  the  golden  bowl  was 
breaking  at  the  fountain  :  but  he  was  resigned  to  the 
will  of  Providence,  feeling  that  He  who  gave  has  the 
right  to  take  away  in  His  own  good  time  and  man- 
ner. After  his  duty  to  his  Creator,  and  his  anxiety 
for  his  family,  his  first  care  was  for  his  country,  and 
his  first  wish  for  the  preservation  and  perpetuation 
of  the  Constitution  and  the  Union,  dear  to  him  in  the 
hour  of  death,  as  they  had  ever  been  in  the  vigor  of 
life.  Of  that  Constitution  and  Union  whose  defence, 
in  the  last  and  greatest  crisis  of  their  peril,  had  called 
forth  all  his  energies,  and  had  stimulated  those  me- 
morable and  powerful  exertions,  which  he  who  wit- 
nessed can  never  forget,  and  which  no  doubt  hastened 
the  fiaal  catastrophe,  a  nation  now  deplores  with  a 
21  Q 


242  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

sincerity  and  unanimity  not  less  honorable  to  them- 
selves than  to  the  memory  of  the  object  of  their  affec- 
tions. And  when  we  shall  enter  that  narrow  valley 
through  which  he  has  passed  before  us,  and  which 
leads  to  the  judgment-seat  of  God,  may  we  be  able 
to  say,  through  faith  in  His  Son,  our  Saviour,  and  in 
the  beautiful  language  of  the  hymn  of  the  dying 
Christian  —  dying,  but  ever  living  and  triumphant: 

"  '  The  world  recedes,  it  disappears ! 
Heaven  opens  on  my  eyes !  my  ears 
With  sounds  seraphic  ring: 
Lend,  lend  your  wings !  I  mount,  I  fly  I 
Oh  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ? 
Oh  death,  where  is  thy  sting?' 

"  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my 
last  end  be  like  his." 

From.among  the  many  other  eloquent  tributes  which 
wore  paid,  on  this  occasion,  to  the  virtues  of  Mr. 
Clay,  with  which  we  might  fitly  conclude  this  narra- 
tive of  his  career,  we  select  the  two  which  follow,  as 
most  appropriate  and  impressive.  Mr.  Seward,  of 
New  York,  addressed  the  Senate  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  President,  fifty  years  ago,  Henry  Cla}*,  of  Vir- 
ginia, already  adopted  by  Kentucky,  then  as  youth- 
ful as  himself,  entered  the  service  of  his  country,  a 
Representative  in  the  unpretending  Legislature  of 
that  rising  State  ;  and  having  thenceforward  pursued, 
with  ardor  and  constancy,  the  gradual  paths  of  au 
aspiring  change  through  halls  of  Congress,  foreign 
courts,  and  Executive  councils,  he  has  now,  with  the 
cheerfulness  of  a  patriot,  and  the  serenity  of  a  Chris- 
tian, fitly  closed  his  long  and  arduous  career,  here  in 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  243 

the  Senate,  in  the  full  presence  of  the  Republic,  look- 
ing down  upon  the  scene  with  anxiety  and  alarm  — 
not  merely  a  Senator  like  one  of  us  who  yet  remain 
in  the  Senate-House,  but  filling  that  character  which, 
though  it  had  no  authority  of  law,  and  was  assigned 
without  suffrage,  Augustus  Caesar  nevertheless  de- 
clared was  above  the  title  of  Emperor,  Primus  inter 
JUustres  —  the  Prince  of  the  Senate. 

"  Generals  are  tried,  Mr.  President,  by  examining 
the  campaigns  they  'have  lost  or  won,  and  statesmen 
by  reviewing  the  transactions  in  which  they  have 
been  engaged.  Hamilton  would  have  been  unknown 
to  us  had  there  been  no  Constitution  to  be  created, 
as  Brutus  would  have  died  in  obscurity  had  there 
been  no  Caesar  to  be  slain. 

"Colonization,  revolution,  and  organization — three 
great  acts  in  the  drama  of  our  national  progress — had 
already  passed  when  the  western  patriot  appeared  on 
the  public  stage.  He  entered  in  that  next  division  of 
the  majestic  scenes  which  was  marked  by  an  inevita- 
ble reaction  of  political  forces,  a  wild  strife  of  factions, 
and  ruinous  embarrassments  in  our  foreign  relations. 
This  transition  stage  is  always  more  perilous  than 
any  other  in  the  career  of  nations,  and  especially  in 
the  career  of  republics.  It  proved  fatal  to  the  Com- 
monwealth of  England.  Scarcely  any  of  the  Spanish- 
American  States  has  yet  emerged  from  it;  and  it  has 
more  than  once  been  sadly  signalized  by  the  ruin  of 
the  republican  cause  in  France. 

"The  continuous  administration  of  Washington 
and  John  Adams  had  closed  under  a  cloud  which 
had  thrown  a  broad,  dark  shadow -over  the  future; 


244  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

the  nation  was  deeply  indebted  at  home  and  abroad, 
and  its  credit  was  prostrate.     The  revolutionary  fac- 
tions had  given  place  to  two  inveterate  parties,  divided 
by  a  gulf  which  had  been  worn  by  the  conflict  in 
which  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  and  made  broader 
and  deeper  by  a  war  of  prejudices  concerning  the 
merits   of  the   belligerents   in    the  great  European 
struggle   that  then   convulsed   the   civilized    world. 
Our  extraordinary  political  system  was  little  more 
than  an  ingenious  theory,  not  yet  practically  esta- 
blished.    The  Union  of  the  States  was  as  yet  only 
one  of  compact;  for  the  political,  social,  and  com- 
mercial necessities  to  which  it  was  so  marvellously 
adapted,  and  which,  clustering  thickly  upon  it,  now 
render  it  indissoluble,  had  not  then  been  broadly  dis- 
closed, nor  had  the  habits  of  acquiescence,  and  the 
sentiments  of  loyalty,  always  slow  of  growth,  fully 
ripened.     The  bark  that  had  gone  to  sea,  thus  unfur- 
nished and  untried,  seemed  quite  certain  to  founder 
by  reason  of  its  own  inherent  frailty,  even  if  it  should 
escape  unharmed  in  the  great  conflict  of  nations, 
which  acknowledged  no  claims  of  justice,  and  tole- 
rated no  pretensions  of  neutrality.     Moreover,   the 
territory  possessed  by  the  nation  was  inadequate  to 
commercial  exigencies,  and  indispensable  social  ex- 
pansion ;  and  yet  no  provision  had  been  made  for  en- 
largement, nor  for  extending  the  political  system  over 
distant  regions,  inhabited  or  otherwise,  which  must 
inevitably  be  acquired.     Nor  could  any  such  acqui- 
sition be  made  without  disturbing  the  carefully-ad- 
justed balance  of  powers  among  the  members  of  the 
Confederacy. 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  245 

"These  difficulties,  Mr.  President,  although  they 
grew  less  with  time  and  by  slow  degrees,  continued 
throughout  the  whole  life  of  the  statesman  whose  ob- 
sequies we  are  celebrating.  Be  it  known,  then— and 
I  am  sure  that  history  will  confirm  the  instruction  — 
that  conservatism  was  the  interest  of  the  nation,  and 
the  responsibility  of  its  rulers,  during  the  period  in 
which  he  flourished.  He  was  ardent,  bold,  generous, 
and  even  ambitious ;  and  yet,  with  a  profound  con- 
viction of  the  true  exigencies  of  the  country,  like 
Alexander  Hamilton,  he  disciplined  himself,  and 
trained  a  restless  nation,  that  knew  on'.y  self-control, 
to  the  rigorous  practice  of  that  often  humiliating 
conservatism  which  its  welfare  and  security  in  that 
peculiar  crisis  so  imperiously  demanded. 

"It  could  not  have  happened,  sir,  to  any  citizen  to 
nave  acted  alone,  nor  even  to  have  acted  always  the 
most  conspicuous  part  in  a  trying  period  so  long  pro- 
tracted. Henry  Clay,  therefore,  shared  the  responsi- 
bilities of  Government  with  not  only  his  proper  con- 
temporaries, but  also  survivors  of  the  Revolution,  as 
well  as  also  many  who  will  now  succeed  himself.  Deli- 
cacy forbids  my  naming  those  who  retain  their  places 
here ;  but  we  may,  without  impropriety,  recall  among 
his  compeers  a  Senator  of  vast  resources  and  inflexi- 
ble resolve,  who  has  recently  withdrawn  from  this 
chamber,  but  I  trust  not  altogether  from  public  life 
(Mr.  Benton);  and  another,  who,  surpassing  all  his 
contemporaries  within  his  country,  and  even  through- 
out the  world,  in  the  proper  eloquence  of  the  forurn, 
now,  in  autumnal  years,  for  a  second  time  dignifies 
and  adorns  the  highest  seat  in  the  Executive  Council 
21* 


246  THE    LIFE    AKD    TIMES 

(Mr. "Webster).  Passing  by  these  eminent  and  noble 
•men,  the  shades  of  Calhoun,  John  Quiricy  Adams, 
Jackson, Monroe,  Madison,  and  Jefferson,  rise  up  before 
us — statesmen  whose  living  and  local  fame  has  ripened 
already  into  historical  and  world-wide  renown. 

"Among  geniuses  so  lofty  as  these,  Henry  Clay 
bore  a  part  in  regulating  the  constitutional  freedom 
of  political  debate;  establishing  that  long-contested 
and  most  important  line  which  divides  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  several  States  from  that  of  the  States 
confederated  ;  asserting  the  right  of  neutrality,  and 
vindicating  it  by  a  war  against  Great  Britain,  when 
that  just  but  extreme  measure  became  necessary; 
adjusting  the  terms  on  which  that  perilous,  yet  hono- 
rable contest,  was  brought  to  a  peaceful  close;  per- 
fecting the  Army,  and  the  Navy,  and  national  fortifi- 
cations: settling  the  fiscal  and  financial  policy  of  the 
Government  in  more  than  one  crisis  of  apparently- 
threatened  revolution ;  asserting  and  calling  into 
exercise  the  powers  of  the  Government  for  making 
and  improving  internal  communications  between  the 
States ;  arousing  and  encouraging  the  Spanish-Ame- 
rican colonies  on  this  continent  to  throw  oft'  the  for- 
eign yoke,  and  to  organize  governments  on  principles 
congenial  to  our  own,  and  thus  creating  external  bul- 
warks for  our  own  national  defence;  establishing 
equal  and  impartial  peace  and  amity  with  all  existing 
maritime  powers;  and  extending  the  constitutional 
organization  of  Government  over  vast  regions,  all 
secured  in  his  lifetime  by  purchase  or  by  conquest, 
whereby  the  pillars  of  the  Republic  have  been  removed 
from  the  banks  of  the  St.  Mary's  to  the  borders  of  the 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  247 

Rio  Grande,  and  from  the  margin  of  the  Mississippi 
to  the  Pacific  coast.  We  may  not  yet  discuss  the 
wisdom  of  the  several  measures  which  have  thus 
passed  in  review  before  us,  nor  of  the  positions  which 
the  deceased  statesman  assumed  in  regard  to  them ; 
but  we  may,  without  offence,  dwell  upon  the  compre- 
hensive results  of  them  all. 

"  The  Union  exists  in  absolute  integrity,  and  the 
Republic  in  complete  and  triumphant  development. 
Without  having  relinquished  any  part  of  their  indi- 
viduality, the  States  have  more  than  doubled  already, 
and  are  increasing  in  numbers  and  growing  in  politi- 
cal strength  and  expansion  more  rapidly  than  ever 
before.  Without  having  absorbed  any  State,  or  hav- 
ing even  encroached  on  any  State,  the  Confederation, 
lias  opened  itself  so  as  to  embrace  all  the  new  mem- 
bers who  have  come ;  and  now,  with  capacity  for  fur- 
ther and  indefinite  enlargement,  has  become  fixed, 
enduring,  and  perpetual.  Although  it  was  doubted, 
only  half  a  century  ago,  whether  our  political  system 
could  be  maintained  at  all,  and  whether,  if  main- 
tained, it  could  guarantee  the  peace  and  happiness  of 
society,  it  stands  now  confessed  by  the  world  the  form 
of  government  not  only  most  adapted  to  empire,  but 
also  most  congenial  with  the  constitution  of  human 
nature. 

'*  When  we  consider  that  the  nation  has  been  con- 
ducted to  this  haven,  not  only  through  stormy  seas, 
but  altogether  also  without  a  course  and  without  a 
star ;  and  when  we  consider,  moreover,  the  sum  of 
happiness  that  has  already  been  enjoyed  by  the  Ame- 
rican people,  and  still  more  the  influence  which  the 


248  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

great  achievements  is  exerting  on  the  advancement 
and  melioration  of  the  condition  of  mankind,  we  see 
at  once  that  it  might  have  satisfied  the  highest  ambi- 
ticn  to  have  been,  no  matter  how  humbly,  concerned 
in  BO  great  a  transaction. 

"  Certainly,  sir,  no  one  will  assert  that  Henry  Clay 
in  that  transaction  performed  an  obscure  or  even  a 
common  part.  On  the  contrary,  from  the  day  on 
which  he  entered  the  public  service,  until  that  on 
which  he  passed  the  gates  of  death,  he  was  never  a 
follower,  but  always  a  leader;  and  he  marshalled 
either  the  party  which  sustained,  or  that  which  re- 
sisted, every  great  measure,  equally  in  the  Senate 
and  in  the  popular  canvass.  And  he  led  where  duty 
seemed  to  him  to  indicate,  reckless  whether  he  en- 
countered one  President  or  twenty  Presidents,  whe- 
ther he  was  opposed  by  factions  or  even  by  the  whole 
people.  Hence  it  has  happened  that,  although  that 
people  are  not  yet  agreed  among  themselves  on  the 
wisdom  of  all  or  perhaps  of  even  any  of  his  great 
measures,  yet  they  are  nevertheless  unanimous  in 
acknowledging  that  he  was  at  once  the  greatest,  the 
most  faithful,  and  the  most  reliable  of  their  states- 
men. Here  the  effort  at  discriminating  praise  of 
Henry  Clay  in  regard  to  his  public  policy  must  stop, 
even  on  this  sad  occasion,  which  awakens  the  ardent 
liberality  of  his  generous  survivors. 

"But  his  personal  qualities  maybe  discussed  with 
out  apprehension.     What  were  the  elements  of  the 
success  of  that  extraordinary  man  ?     You,  sir,  knew 
him  longer  and  better  than  I,  and  I  would  prefer  to 
hear  you  speak  of  them.     He  was  indeed  eloquent — 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  249 

all  the  world  knows  that.  lie  held  the  keys  to  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen,  and  he  turned  the  wards 
within  them  with  a  skill  attained  by  no  other  master. 

"But  eloquence  was  nevertheless  only  an  instru- 
ment, and  one  of  many  that  he  used.  His  conversa- 
tion, his  gestures,  his  very  look,  was  magisterial,  per- 
suasive, seductive,  irresistible.  And  his  appliance 
of  all  these  was  courteous,  patient,  and  indefatigable. 
Defeat  only  inspired  him  with  new  resolution.  He 
divided  opposition  by  his  assiduity  of  address,  while 
he  rallied  and  strengthened  his  own  bands  of  sup- 
porters by  the  confidence  of  success  which,  feeling 
himself,  he  easily  inspired  among  his  followers.  His 
affections  were  high,  and  pure,  and  generous,  and  the 
chiefest  among  them  was  that  one  which  the  great 
Italian  poet  designated  as  the  charity  of  native  land. 
In  him  that  charity  was  an  enduring  and  overpower- 
ing enthusiasm,  and  it  influenced  all  his  sentiments 
and  conduct,  rendering  him  more  impartial  between 
conflicting  interests  and  sections,  than  any  other 
statesman  who  has  lived  since  the  Revolution.  Thus 
with  great  versatility  of  talent,  and  the  most  catholic 
equality  of  favor,  he  identified  every  question,  Avhe- 
ther  of  domestic  administration  or  foreign  policy, 
with  his  own  great  name,  and  so  became  a  perpetual 
Tribune  of  the  people.  He  needed  only  to  pronounce 
in  favor  of  a  measure  or  against  it,  here,  and  imme- 
diately popular  enthusiasm,  excited  as  by  a  magic 
wand,  was  felt,  overcoming  and -dissolving  all  oppo- 
sition in  the  Senate  Chamber. 

"In  this  way  he  wrought  a  change  in  our  political 
system,  that  I  think  was  not  foreseen  by  its  founders. 


250  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

He  converted  this  branch  of  the  Legislature  from  a 
negative  position,  or  one  of  equilibrium  between  the 
Executive  and  the  House  of  Representatives,  into 
the  active  ruling  power  of  the  Republic.  Only  tirno 
can  disclose  whether  this  great  innovation  shall  be 
beneficent,  or  even  permanent. 

"Certainly,  sir,  the  great  lights  of  the  Senate  havo 
eet.  The  obscuration  is  not  less  palpable  to  the 
country  than  to  us,  who  are  left  to  grope  our  uncer- 
tain way  here,  as  in  a  labyrinth,  oppressed  with  self- 
distrust.  The  time,  too,  presents  new  embarrass- 
ments. We  are  rising  to  another  and  more  sublime 
stage  of  national  progress — that  of  expanding  wealth 
and  rapid  territorial  aggrandizement." 

At  a  later  hour  of  Jthe  day  John  C.  Breckenridge, 
of  Kentucky,  rose  and  said : 

"Mr.  Speaker:  I  rise  to  perform  the  melancholy 
duty  of  announcing  to  this  body  the  death  of  Henry 
Clay,  late  a  Senator  in  Congress  from  the  Common- 
wealth of  Kentucky. 

"  Mr.  Clay  expired  at  his  lodgings  in  this  city  yes- 
terday morning,  at  seventeen  minutes  past  eleven 
o'clock,  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age.  Jlis 
noble  intellect  was  unclouded  to  the  last.  After  pro- 
tracted sufferings,  he  passed  away  without  pain  ;  and 
BO  gently  did  the  spirit  leave  his  frame,  that  the  mo- 
ment of  departure  was  not  observed  by  the  friends 
who  watched  at  his  bedside.  His  last  hours  were 
cheered  by  the  presence  of  an  affectionate  son,  and 
he  died  surrounded  by  friends  who,  during  his  long 
illness,  had  done  all  that  affection  could  suggest  to 
•soothe  his  sufferings. 


OF    HENRY    CLAT.  251 

"Although  this  sad  event  has  been  expected  for 
many  weeks,  the  shock  it  produced,  and  the  innume- 
rable tributes  of  respect  to  his  memory  exhibited  on 
every  side,  and  in  every  form,  prove  the  depth  of  the 
public  sorrow  and  the  greatness  of  the  public  Joss. 

"Imperishably  associated  as  his  name  has  been  for 
fifty  years  with  every  great  event  affecting  the  for- 
tunes of  our  country,  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  he 
is  indeed  gone  forever.  It  is  difficult  to  feel  that  we 
shall  see  no  more  his  noble  form  within  these  walls — 
that  we  shall  hear  no  more  his  patriot  tones,  now 
rousing  his  countrymen  to  vindicate  their  rights 
against  a  foreign  foe,  now  imploring  them  to  preserve 
concord  among  themselves.  We  shall  see  him  no 
more.  The  memory  and  the  fruits  of  his  services 
alone  remain  to  us.  Amidst  the  general  gloom,  the 
Capitol  itself  looks  desolate,  as  if  the  genius  of  the 
place  had  departed.  Already  the  intelligence  has 
reached  almost  every  quarter  of  the  Republic,  and  a 
great  people  mourn  with  us,  to-day,  the  death  of  their 
most  illustrious  citizen.  Sympathizing,  as  we  do, 
deeply,  with  his  family  and  friends,  yet  private  afflic- 
tion is  absorbed  in  the  general  sorrow.  The  spectacle 
of  a  whole  community  lamenting  the  loss  of  a  great 
man,  is  far  more  touching  than  any  manifestation  of 
private  grief.  In  speaking  of  a  loss  which  is  na- 
tional, I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  universal 
burst  of  grief  with  which  Kentucky  will  receive  these 
tidings.  The  attempt  would  be  vain  to  depict  the 
gloom  that  will  cover  her  people,  when  they  know 
that  the  pillar  of  fire  has  been  removed  which  has 
guided  their  footsteps  for  the  life  of  a  generation. 


252  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

"It  is  known  to  the  country  that,  from  the  memo- 
rable session  of  1849-50,  Mr.  Clay's  health  gradually 
declined.  Although  several  years  of  his  senatorial 
term  remained,  he  did  not  propose  to  continue  in  the 
public  service  longer  than  the  present  session.  He 
came  to  Washington  chiefly  to  defend,  if  it  should 
become  necessary,  the  measures  of  adjustment,  to 
the  adoption  of  which  he  so  largely  contributed ;  but 
the  condition  of  his  health  did  not  allow  him,  at  any 
time,  to  participate  in  the  discussions  of  the  Senate. 
During  the  winter  he  was  confined  almost  wholly  to 
his  room,  with  slight  changes  in  his  condition,  but 
gradually  losing  the  remnant  of  his  strength.  During 
the  long  and  dreary  winter,  he  conversed  much  and 
cheerfully  with  his  friends,  and  expressed  a  deep  in- 
terest in  public  affairs.  Although  he  did  not  expect 
a  restoration  to  health,  he  cherished  the  hope  that 
the  mild  season  of  spring  would  bring  to  him  strength 
enough  to  return  to  Ashland,  and  die  in  the  bosom 
of  his  family.  But  alas!  spring  that  brings  life  to  all 
nature,  brought  no  life  nor  hope  to  him.  After  the 
month  of  March,  his  vital  powers  rapidly  wasted,  and 
for  weeks  he  lay  patiently  awaiting  the  stroke  of 
death.  But  the  approach  of  the  destroyer  had  no 
terrors  for  him.  No  clouds  overhung  his  future.  Ho 
met  the  end  with  composure,  and  his  pathway  to  the 
grave  was  brightened  by  the  immortal  hopes  which 
spring  from  the  Christian  faith. 

"Not  long  before  his  death,  having  just  returned 
from  Kentucky,  I  bore  to  him  a  token  of  affection 
from  his  excellent  wife.  Never  can  I  forget  his  ap- 
pearance, his  manner,  or  his  words.  After  speaking 


OP    HENRY    CLAY. 


253 


of  his  family,  his  friends,  and  his  country,  he  changed 
the  conversation  to  his  own  future,  and  looking  on 
me  with  his  fine  eye  undimmed,  and  his  voice  full  of 
its  original  compass  and  melody,  he  said,  '  I  am  not 
afraid  to  die,  sir.  I  have  hope,  faith,  and  some  con- 
fidence. I  do  not  think  any  man  can  be  entirely  cer- 
tain in  regard  to  his  future  state,  but  I  have  an  abid- 
ing trust  in  the  merits  and  mediation  of  our  Saviour.' 
It  will  assuage  the  grief  of  his  family  to  know  that 
he  looked  hopefully  beyond  the  tomb ;  and  a  Chris- 
tian people  will  rejoice  to  hear  that  such  a  man,  in 
his  last  hours,  reposed  with  simplicity  and  confidence 
on  the  promises  of  the  gospel. 

"It  is  the  custom,  on  occasions  like  this,  to  speak 
of  the  parentage  and  childhood  of  the  deceased,  and 
to  follow  him,  step  by  step,  through  life.  I  will  not 
attempt  to  relate  even  all  the  great  events  of  Mr. 
Clay's  life,  because  they  are  familiar  to  the  whole 
country,  and  it  would  be  needless  to  enumerate  a  long 
list  of  public  services  which  form  a  part  of  American 
history. 

"Beginning  life  as  a  friendless  boy,  with  few  ad- 
vantages save  those  conferred  by  nature,  while  yet  a 
minor  he  left  Virginia,  the  State  of  his  birth,  and 
commenced  the  practice  of  law  at  Lexington,  in  Ken- 
tucky. At  a  bar  remarkable  for  its  numbers  and 
talent,  Mr.  Clay  soon  rose  to  the  first  rank.  At  a 
very  early  age  he  was  elected  from  the  county  of 
Fayette  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Kentucky,  and 
was  the  Speaker  of  that  bod\*.  Corning  into  tho 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  for  the  first  time,  in 
1806,  he  entered  upon  a  parliamentary  career,  th« 
22 


254  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

most  brilliant  and  successful  in  our  annals.  From 
that  time  lie  remained  habitually  in  the  public  eye. 
As  a  Senator,  as  a  member  of  this  House,  and  its 
Speaker,  as  a  representative  of  his  country  abroad, 
and  as  a  high  officer  in  the  executive  department  of 
the  Government,  he  was  intimately  connected  for 
fifty  years  with  every  great  measure  of  American 
policy.  Of  the  mere  party  measures  of  this  period,  I 
do  not  propose  to  speak.  Many  of  them  have  passed 
away,  and  are  remembered  only  as  the  occasion  for 
the  great  intellectual  efforts  which  marked  their  dis- 
cussion. Concerning  others,  opinions  are  still  di- 
vided. They  will  go  into  history,  with  the  reasons 
on  either  side  rendered  by  the  greatest  intellects  of 
the  time. 

"As  a  leader  in  a  deliberative  body,  Mr.  Clay  had 
no  equal  in  America.  In  him,  intellect,  person,  elo- 
quence, and  courage,  united  to  form  a  character  fit  to 
command.  He  fired  with  his  own  enthusiasm,  and 
controlled  by  his  amazing  will,  individuals  and 
masses.  Ko  reverse  could  crush  his  spirit,  nor  defeat 
reduce  him  to  despair.  Equally  erect  and  dauntless 
in  prosperity  and  adversity,  when  successful  he  moved 
to  the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes  with  severe 
resolution ;  when  defeated,  he  rallied  his  broken 
bands  around  him,  and  from  his  eagle  eye  shot  along 
their  ranks  the  contagion  of  his  own  courage.  DOS- 

~  O 

fined  for  a  leader,  lie  everywhere  asserted  his  destiny. 
lu  his  long  and  eventful  life,  lie  came  in  contact  with 
men  of  all  ranks  and  professions,  but  he  never  felt 
that  he  was  in  the  presence  of  a  man  superior  to  him- 
self.  In  the  assemblies  of  the  people,  at  the  bar,  in 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  255 

the  Senate  —  everywhere  within  the  circle  of  his  per- 
sonal presence,  he  assumed  and  maintained  a  position 
of  pre-eminence. 

"But  the  supremacy  of  Mr.  Clay  as  a  party  leader, 
was  not  his  only  nor  his  highest  title  to  renown. 
That  title  is  to  be  found  in  the  purely  patriotic  spirit 
which,  on  great  occasions,  always  signalized  his  con- 
duct. We  have  had  no  statesman  who,  in  periods  of 
real  and  imminent  public  peril,  has  exhibited  a  more 
genuine  and  enlarged  patriotism  than  Henry  Clay. 
Whenever  a  question  presented  itself  actually  threat- 
ening the  existence  of  the  Union,  Mr.  Clay,  rising 
above  the  passions  of  the  hour,  always  exerted  his 
powers  to  solve  it  peacefully  and  honorably.  Al- 
though more  liable  than  most  men,  from  his  im- 
petuous and  ardent  nature,  to  feel  strongly  the  pas- 
sions common  to  us  all,  it  was  his  rare  faculty  to  be 
able  to  subdue  them  in  a  great  crisis,  and  to  hold 
toward  all  sections  of  the  Confederacy  the  language 
of  concord  and  brotherhood. 

*'  Sir,  it  will  be  a  proud  pleasure  to  every  true  Ame- 
rican heart  to  remember  the  great  occasions  when 
Mr.  Clay  has  displayed  a  sublime  patriotism  —  when 
the  ill-temper  engendered  by  the  times,  and  the 
miserable  jealousies  of  the  day,  seemed  to  have  been 
driven  from  his  bosom  by  the  expulsive  power  of 
nobler  feelings  —  when  every  throb  of  his  heart  was 
given  to  his  country,  every  effort  of  his  intellect  dedi- 
cated to  her  service.  Who  does  not  remember  the 
three  periods  when  the  American  system  of  govern- 
ment was  exposed  to  its  severest  trials ;  and  who  does 
not  know  that  when  History  shall  relate  the  struggles 


256  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

which  preceded  the  dangers  which  wert»  L»-  *(.*> «  by 
the  Missouri  Coin  promise,  the  Tariff'  Compromise  of 
1833,  and  the  adjustment  of  1850,  the  same  pages 
will  record  the  genius,  the  eloquence,  and  the  patriot- 
ism of  Henry  Clay? 

"Nor  was  it  in  Mr.  Clay's  nature  to  lag  behind 
until  measures  of  adjustment  were  matured,  and  then 
come  forward  to  swell  a  majority.  On  the  contrary, 
like  a  bold  and  real  statesman,  he  was  ever  among 
the  first  to  meet  the  peril,  arid  hazard  his  fame  upon 
the  remedy.  It  is  fresh  in  the  memory  of  us  all  that, 
when  lately  the  fury  of  sectional  discord  threatened 
to  sever  the  Confederacy,  Mr.  Clay,  though  with- 
drawn from  public  life,  and  oppressed  by  the  burden 
of  years,  came  back  to  the  Senate,  the  theatre  of  his 
glory,  and  devoted  the  remnant  of  his  strength  to 
the  sacred  duty  of  preserving  the  union  of  the  States. 

"With  characteristic  courage,  he  took  the  lead  in 
proposing  a  scheme  of  settlement.  But,  while  he 
was  willing  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  proposing 
a  plan,  he  did  not,  with  petty  ambition,  insist  upon 
its  adoption  to  the  exclusion  of  other  modes;  but, 
taking  his  own  as  a  starting-point  for  discussion  and 
practical  action,  he  nobly  labored  with  his  compatriots 
to  change  and  improve  it  in  such  form  as  to  make  it 
an  acceptable  adjustment.  Throughout  the  long  and 
arduous  struggle,  the  love  of  country  expelled  from 
his  bosom  the  spirit  of  selfishness;  and  Mr.  Clay 
proved,  for  the  third  time,  that  though  he  \vas  am- 
bitious, and  loved  glory,  he  had  no  ambition  to  mount 
to  fame  on  the  confusions  of  his  country.  And  thia 
conviction  is  lodged  in  the  hearts  of  the  people;  the 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  257 

party  measures  and  the  party  passions  of  former  times 
have  not,  for  several  years,  interposed  between  Mr. 
Clay  and  the  masses  of  his  countrymen.  After  1850, 
he  seemed  to  feel  that  his  mission  was  accomplished, 
and  during1  the  same  period,  the  regards  and  affec- 
tions of  the  American  people  have  been  attracted  to 
him  in  a  remarkable  degree.  For  many  months  the 
warmest  feelings,  the  deepest  anxieties  of  all  parties, 
centered  upon  the  dying  statesman  ;  the  glory  of  his 
great  actions  shed  a  mellow  lustre  on  his  declining 
years,  and  to  fill  the  measure  of  his  fame,  his  coun- 
trymen, weaving  for  him  the  laurel  wreath,  with 
common  hands,  did  bind  it  about  his  venerable  brow, 
and  send  him,  crowned,  to  history. 

"  The  life  of  Mr.  Clay,  sir,  is  a  striking  example 
of  the  abiding  fame  which  surely  awaits  the  direct 
and  candid  statesman.  The  entire  absence  of  equi- 
vocation or  disguise  in  all  his  acts,  was  his  master- 
key  to  the  popular  heart;  for  while  the  people  will 
forgive  the  errors  of  a  bold  and  open  nature,  he  sins 
past  forgiveness  who  deliberately  deceives  them. 
Hence  Mr.  Clay,  though  often  defeated  in  his  mea- 
sures of  policy,  always  secured  the  respect  of  his  op- 
ponents without  losing  the  confidence  of  his  friends. 
He  never  paltered  in  a  double  sense.  The  country 
never  was  in  doubt  as  to  his  opinions  or  his  purposes. 
In  all  the  contests  of  his  time,  his  position  on  great 
public  questions  was  as  clear  as  the  sun  in  the  cloud- 
.ess  sky.  Sir,  standing  by  the  grave  of  this  great 
man.  and  considering  these  things,  how  contemptible 
does  appear  the  mere  legerdemain  of  politics  !  What 
a  reproach  is  his  life  on  that  false  policy  which  would 
22*  B 


258  THE    L.IFE    AND    TIMES 

trifle  with  a  great  and  upright  people!  If  I  were  to 
write  his  epitaph,  I  would  inscribe  as  the  highest 
eulogy,  on  the  stone  which  shall  mark  his  resting- 
place,  '  Here  lies  a  man  who  was  in  the  public  service 
for  fifty  years,  and  never  attempted  to  deceive  his 
counts-men.' 

"While  the  youth  of  America  should  imitate  his 
noble  qualities,    they   may   take   courage   from   his 
career,  and  note  the  high  proof  it  affords  that,  under 
our  equal  institutions,  the  avenues  to  honor  are  open 
to  all.     Mr.  Clay  rose  by  the  force  of  his  own  genius, 
unaided  by  power,  patronage,  or  wealth.     At  an  age 
when  our  young  men  are  usually  advanced  to  the 
higher  schools  of  learning,  provided  only  with  the 
rudiments  of  an  English  education,  he  turned   his 
steps  to  the  West,  and,  amidst  the  rude  collisions  of 
a  border  lite,  matured  a  character  whose  highest  ex 
hibitions  were  destined  to  mark  eras  in  his  county's 
history.     Beginning   on   the   frontiers   of  American 
civilization,  the  orphan  boy,  supported  only  by  the 
consciousness  of  his  own  powers,  and  by  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people,  surmounted  all  the  barriers  of 
adverse  fortune,   and  won  a  glorious  name  in  the 
annals  of  his  country.     Let  the  generous  youth,  fired 
with  honorable  ambition,  remember  that  the  Ameri- 
can system  of  government  offers  on  every  hand  boun- 
ties to  merit.     If,  like  Clay,  orphanage,   obscurity, 
poverty,  shall  oppress  him ;  yet  if,  like  Clay,  he  feels 
the  Promethean  spark  within,  let  him  remember  that 
his  country,  like  a  generous  mother,  extends  her  arms 
tc  welcome  and  to  cherish  every  one  of  her  children 
whose  genius  and  worth  may  promote  her  prosperity 
or  increase  her  renown. 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  25D 

"Mr.  Speaker,  the  signs  of  woe  around  us,  and  the 
general  voice,  announce  that  another  great  man  has 
fallen.  Our  consolation  is  that  he  was  not  taken  in 
the  vigor  of  his  manhood,  but  sunk  into  the  grave  at 
the  close  of  a  long  and  illustrious  career.  The  great 
statesmen  who  have  filled  the  largest  space  in  the 
public  eye,  one  by  one  are  passing  away.  Of  the 
three  great  leaders  of  the  Senate,  one  alone  remains, 
and  he  must  follow  soon.  We  shall  witness  no  more 
their  intellectual  struggles  in  the  American  forum ; 
but  the  monuments  of  their  genius  will  be  cherished 
as  the  common  property  of  the  people,  and  their 
names  will  continue  to  confer  dignity  and  renown 
upon  their  country. 

"  Not  less  illustrious  than  the  greatest  of  these  will 
be  the  name  of  Clay — a  name  pronounced  with  pride 
by  Americans  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe ;  a  name 
to  be  remembered  while  history  shall  record  the 
struggles  of  modern  Greece  for  freedom,  or  the  spirit 
of  liberty  burn  in  the  South  American  bosom;  a 
living  and  immortal  name  —  a  name  that  would  de- 
scend to  posterity  without  the  aid  of  letters,  borne  by 
tradition  from  generation  to  generation.  Every  me- 
morial of  such  a  man  will  possess  a  meaning  and  a 
value  to  his  countrymen.  His  tomb  will  be  a  hal- 
lowed spot.  Great  memories  will  cluster  there, 
and  his  countrymen,  as  they  visit  it,  may  well 
exclaim : 

'  Such  graves  as  his  are  pilgrim  shrines 

Shrines  to  no  creed  confined ; 
The  Delphian  vales,  the  Palestine, 
The  Meccas  of  the  mind.' 


260  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

"Mr.  Speaker,  I  offer  the  following  resolutions  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  has  received,  with  the  deepest  sen- 
sibility, intelligence  of  the  death  of  Henry  Clay. 

"Resolved,  That  the  officers  and  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  will  wear  the  usual  badge 
of  mourning  for  thirty  days,  as  a  testimony  of  the 
profound  respect  this  House  entertains  for  the  memory 
of  the  deceased. 

"  Resolved^  That  the  officers  and  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  in  a  body,  will  attend  the 
funeral  of  Henry  Clay,  on  the  day  appointed  for  that 
purpose  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 

"Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  House,  in 
relation  to  the  death  of  Henry  Clay,  be  communicated 
to  the  family  of  the  deceased  by  the  clerk. 

"Resolved,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  for 
the  memory  of  the  deceased,  this  House  do  now 
adjourn." 

On  the  1st  of  July  the  funeral  ceremonies  took 
place  in  the  Senate  Chamber.  The  service  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  was  read  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Butler,  the  Chaplain.  The  same  assemblage  of 
distinguished  officials  of  all  descriptions,  who  had 
been  present  on  the  preceding  day,  during  the  de- 
liver}' of  the  eulogies,  now  also  adorned  and  imparted 
dignity  to  the  scene.  The  body  of  the  deceased  was 
carried  to  the  centre  of  the  Chamber,  having  been 
placed  in  a  superb  sarcophagus,  the  form  of  which 
resembled  the  outlines  of  the  human  body.  A  dis- 
course was  then  delivered  by  the  chaplain  appropriate 
to  the  occasion.  It  was  solemn,  eloquent,  and  im- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  261 

pressive.  At  its  conclusion  the  body  was  removed  to 
the  Rotunda,  and  the  assembly  permitted  to  behold 
the  features  of  the  departed  statesman.  The  remains 
were  afterward  taken,  followed  by  the  funeral  proces- 
sion, to  the  depot  of  the  Baltimore  railroad,  whence 
they  were  conveyed  toward  their  final  resting-place 
at  Lexington,  in  Kentucky. 

The  mournful  cortege  arrived  at  that  city  about 
sunset,  on  Friday,  July  the  9th.  A  vast  and  silent 
multitude  awaited  its  approach.  A  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  citizens  of  Lexington,  were  in  readi- 
ness to  receive  them.  Upon  delivering  the  remains 
into  their  keeping,  Mr.  Underwood  addressed  them  as 
follows : 

"  MR.  CHAIRMAN,  and  gentlemen  of  the  Lexington 
Committee: 

"Mr.  Clay  desired  to  be  buried  in  the  cemetery  of 
your  city.  I  made  known  his  wish  to  the  Senate, 
after  he  was  dead.  That  body,  in  consideration  of 
the  respect  entertained  for  him,  and  his  long  and 
eminent  public  services,  appointed  a  committee  of 
six  Senators  to  attend  his  remains  to  this  place. 
My  relations  to  Mr.  Clay,  as  his  colleague,  and  as 
the  mover  of  the  resolution,  induced  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate  to  appoint  me  the  chairman  of 
the  committee.  The  other  gentlemen  comprising  the 
committee  are  distinguished,  all  of  them,  for  eminent 
civil  services,  each  having  been  the  executive  head  of 
a  State  or  Territory,  and  some  of  them  no  less  dis- 
tinguished for  brilliant  military  achievements.  I 
cannot  permit  this  occasion  to  pass  without  an  ex- 
pression of  my  gratitude  to  each  member  of  the 


262  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

Senate's  committee.  They  have,  to  testify  their  per- 
sonal respect  and  appreciation  of  the  character,  pri- 
vate and  public,  of  Mr.  Clay,  left  their  seats  in  the 
Senate,  for  a  time,  and  honored  his  remains  by  con- 
ducting them  to  their  last  resting-place.  I  am  sure 
that  you,  gentlemen  of  the  Lexington  committee, 
and  the  people  of  Kentucky,  will  ever  bear  my  asso- 
ciates in  grateful  remembrance. 

"Our  journey,  since  we  left  Washington,  has  been 
a  continued  procession.  Everywhere  the  people  have 
pressed  forward  to  manifest  their  feelings  toward 
the  illustrious  dead.  Delegates  from  cities,  towns, 
and  villages,  have  waited  on  us.  The  pure  and  the 
lovely,  the  mothers  and  daughters  of  the  land,  as  we 
passed,  covered  the  coffin  with  garlands  of  flowers, 
and  bedewed  it  with  tears.  It  has  been  no  trium- 
phal procession  in  honor  of  a  living  man,  stimulated 
by  hopes  of  reward.  It  has  been  the  voluntary  tribute 
of  a  free  and  grateful  people  to  the  glorious  dead. 
We  have  brought  with  us,  to  witness  the  last  sad 
ceremony,  a  delegation  from  the  Clay  Association  of 
the  city  of  New  York,  and  delegations  from  the  cities 
of  Cincinnati  and  Dayton,  in  Ohio.  Much  as  we 
have  seen  on  our  way,  it  is  small  compared  with  the 
great  movement  of  popular  sympathy  and  admiration 
which  everywhere  burst  forth  in  honor  of  the  departed 
statesman.  The  rivulets  we  have  witnessed  are  con- 
centrating; and  in  their  union  will  form  the  ocean 
tide  that  shall  lave  the  base  of  the  pyramid  of  Mr. 
Clay's  fume  forever. 

"Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  Lexington 
Committee,  I  have  but  one  remaining  duty  to  peform, 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  263 

and  that  is,  to  deliver  to  you,  the  neighbors  and 
friends  of  Mr.  Clay  when  living,  his  dead  body  for 
interment.  From  my  acquaintance  with  your  charac- 
ters, and  especially  with  your  Chairman,  who  was  my 
schoolmate  in  boyhood,  my  associate  in  the  Legisla- 
ture in  early  manhood,  and  afterward  a  co-laborer, 
for  many  years,  on  the  bench  of  the  Appellate  Court, 
I  know  that  you  will  do  all  that  duty  and  propriety 
require,  in  burying  him,  whose  last  great  services  to 
his  country  were  performed  from  Christian  motives, 
without  hopes  of  office  or  earthly  reward." 

The  Chairman  of  the  Lexington  committee,  Chief- 
Justice  Robertson,  deeply  affected,  replied  as  follows: 

"  Senator  Underwood,  Chairman,  and  Associate 
Senators  of  the  Committee  of  Conveyance : 

"Here  your  long  and  mournful  cortege  at  last  enda 
— your  melancholy  mission  is  now  fulfilled  —  and,  this 
solemn  moment,  you  dissolve  forever  your  official 
connection  with  your  late  distinguished  colleague  of 
Kentucky. 

"  With  mingled  emotions  of  sorrow  and  gratitude, 
we  receive  from  your  hands,  into  the  arms  of  his  de- 
voted State  and  the  bosom  of  his  beloved  city,  all 
that  now  remains  on  earth  of  Henry  Clay.  Having 
attained,  with  signal  honor,  the  patriarchal  age  of 
seventy-six,  and  hallowed  his  setting  sun  by  the 
crowning  act  of  his  eventful  drama,  a  wise  and  bene- 
volent Providence  has  seen  fit  to  close  his  pilgrimage, 
and  to  allow  him  to  act — as  we  trust  he  was  prepared 
to  act — a  still  nobler  and  better  part  in  a  purer  world, 
where  life  is  deathless.  This  was,  doubtless,  best  for 
him,  and,  in  the  inscrutable  dispensations  of  a  benig- 


2bt  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

nnut  Almighty,  best  for  his  country.  Still,  it  is  but 
natural  that  his  countrymen,  and  his  neighbors  espe- 
cially, should  feel  and  exhibit  sorrow  at  the  loss  of  a 
citizen  so  useful,  so  eminent,  and  so  loved.  And  not 
as  his  associates  only,  but  as  Kentuckians  and  Ame- 
ricans, we  of  Lexington  and  Fayette  feel  grateful  for 
the  unexampled  manifestations  of  respect  for  his  me- 
mory, to  which  you  have  so  eloquently  alluded,  as 
having  everywhere  graced  the  more  than  triumphal 
procesdon  of  his  dead  body  homeward  from  the 
national  capital,  where,  in  the  public  service,  he  fell 
with  hiu  armor  on  and  untarnished.  "We  feel,  Mr. 
Chairman,  especially  grateful  to  yourself  and  your 
colleagues  here  present,  for  the  honor  of  your  kind 
accompaniment  of  your  precious  deposit  to  his  last 
home.  Equally  divided  in  your  party  names,  equally 
the  personal  friends  of  the  deceased,  equally  sympa- 
thizing with  a  whole  nation  in  the  Providential  be- 
reavement, and  all  distinguished  for  your  public  ser- 
vices and  the  confidence  of  constituents,  —  you  were 
peculiarly  suited  to  the  sacred  trust  of  escorting  his 
remains  to  the  spot  chosen  by  himself  for  their  re- 
pose. Having  performed  that  solemn  service  in  a 
manner  creditable  to  yourselves  and  honorable  to  his 
memory,  Kentucky  thanks  you  for  your  patriotic 
magnanimity.  And  allow  me,  as  her  organ  on  this 
valedictory  occasion,  to  express  for  her,  as  well  as  for 
myself  and  committee,  the  hope  that  your  last  days 
may  be  far  distant,  and  that,  come  when  they  may, 
as  they  certainly  must  come,  sooner  or  later,  to  all 
of  you,  the  death  of  each  of  you  may  deserve  to  be 
honored  by  the  grateful  outpourings  of  national  re- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  265 

epect  which  signalize  the  death  of  our  universally 
lamented  Clay. 

"Unlike  Burke,  he  never  'gave  up  to  the  party 
what  was  meant  for  mankind.'  His  intrepid  nation- 
ality, his  lofty  patriotism,  and  his  comprehensive  phi- 
lanthropy, illustrated  by  his  country's  annals  for  half 
a  century,  magnified  him  among  statesmen,  and  en- 
deared him  to  all  classes,  and  ages,  and  sexes  of  his 
countrymen.  And  therefore  his  name,  like  Wash- 
ington's, will  belong  to  no  party,  or  section,  or  time. 

"Your  kind  allusion,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  reminis- 
cences of  our  personal  associations,  is  cordially  re- 
ciprocated,— the  longer  we  have  known,  the  more 
we  have  respected  each  other.  Be  assured  that  the 
duty  you  have  devolved  on  our  committee  shall  be 
faithfully  performed.  The  body  you  commit  to  ns 
shall  be  properly  interred  in  a  spot  of  its  mother 
earth,  which,  as  'THE  GRAVE  OF  CLAY,'  will  be  more 
and  more  consecrated  by  time  to  the  affections  of 
mankind. 

"How  different,  however,  would  have  been  the 
feelings  of  us  all,  if,  instead  of  the  pulseless,  speech- 
less, breathless  Clay,  now  in  cold  and  solemn  silence 
before  us,  you  had  brought  with  you  to  his  family 
and  neighbors,  the  living  man,  in  all  the  majesty  of 
his  transcendent  moral  power,  as  we  once  knew,  and 
often  saw  and  heard  him.  But  with  becoming  resig- 
nation, we  bow  to  a  dispensation  which  was  doubt- 
less as  wise  and  beneficent  as  it  was  melancholy  and 
inevitable. 

"  To  the  accompanying  committees  from  New 
York,  Dayton,  and  Cincinnati,  we  tender  our  pro- 
23 


266  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

found  acknowledgments  for  their  voluntary  sacrifice 
of  time  and  comfort  to  honor  the  obsequies  of  our 
illustrious  countryman. 

"  In  the  sacred  and  august  presence  of  the  illus- 
trious dead,  were  a  eulogistic  speech  befitting  the 
occasion,  it  could  not  be  made  by  me.  /  could  not 
thus  speak  over  the  dead  body  of  Henry  Clay.  Ken- 
tucky expects  not  me,  nor  any  other  of  her  sons,  to 
speak  his  eulogy  now,  if  ever.  She  would  leave  that 
grateful  task  to  other  States,  and  to  other  times. 
His  name  needs  not  our  panegyric.  The  carver  of 
his  own  fortune,  the  founder  of  his  own  name  —  with 
his  own  hands  he  has  built  his  own  monument,  and 
with  his  own  tongue  and  his  own  pen  he  has  stereo- 
typed his  autobiography.  With  hopeful  trust  his 
maternal  Commonwealth  consigns  his  fame  to  the 
justice  of  history,  and  to  the  judgment  of  ages  to 
come.  His  ashes  he  bequeathed  to  her,  and  they 
will  rest  in  her  bosom  until  the  judgment  day ;  his 
fame  will  descend,  as  the  common  heritage  of  his 
countiy,  to  every  citizen  of  that  Union  of  which  he 
was  thrice  the  triumphant  champion,  and  whose 
genius  and  value  are  so  beautifully  illustrated  by  his 
model  life. 

"But  though  we  feel  assured  that  his  renown  will 
survive. the  ruins  of  the  Capitol  he  so  long  and  so  ad- 
mirably graced,  yet  Kentucky  will  rear  to  his  me- 
mory a  magnificent  mausoleum,  —  a  votive  monu- 
ment,— to  mark  the  spot  where  his  relics  shall  sleep, 
and  to  testify  to  succeeding  generations  that  our  Re- 
public, however  unjust  it  may  too  often  be  to  living 
merit,  will  ever  cherish  a  grateful  remembrance  of 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  267 

the  dead  patriot,  who  dedicated  his  life  to  his  coun- 
try ;  and  with  rare  ability,  heroic  firmness,  and  self- 
sacrificing  constancy,  devoted  his  talents  and  his  time 
to  the  cause  of  Patriotism,  of  Liberty,  and  of  Truth.'' 

"  At  the  close  of  this  address,  the  procession  was 
formed,  headed  by  a  cavalcade  of  horsemen,  prece- 
ding the  hearse,  which  was  followed  by  the  Senate 
committee,  and  the  deputation  from  New  York,  in 
carriages,  as  mourners ;  the  Clay  Guard,  of  Cincin- 
nati;  the  deputation  of  fourteen  from  Dayton,  Ohio; 
the  seventy-six  from  Louisville,  and  the  citizens  ir 
the  rear, — their  march  being  under  the  funeral  arches, 
and  through  the  sombre  street, — lined  by  the  silent 
multitude, — toward  that  place  known  to  ever}*  inha- 
bitant of  the  Republic,  and  throughout  the  civilized 
world,  as  the  home  of  the  great  commoner. 

"  Who  can  fittingly  speak  of  the  agonized  group 
awaiting  at  Ashland  the  arrival  of  the  remains  of 
him  who  had  been  husband,  father,  and  the  beloved 
master?  That  wife,  who,  for  fifty-three  years  and 
upward,  had  been  his  faithful  partner  —  sharer  of 
his  triumphs  and  of  his  many  trials;  whose  saint- 
like virtues  had  secured  to  her  the  affection  and 
veneration  of  all  classes  in  the  place  where  she  was 
so  well  known ;  herself  more  than  threescore  years 
a  sojourner  on  earth,  having  survived  her  parents 
and  all  her  daughters,  with  gallant  sons  mouldering 
in  the  tomb,  bending  beneath  the  weight  of  this,  her 
speechless  sorrow;  bowing  with  years,  and  broken  in 
health,  amid  surviving  children,  grandchildren,  and 
kindred;  and  gathering  around  them,  the  old  and 


268  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

young  of  their  servants,  awaited  there  the  remains 
of  her  husband. 

"Guided  by  the  many  torches,  the  train  moved 
through  the  grounds  designed  and  laid  out  under  his 
(Supervision.  It  was  in  truth  a  solemn, — a  holy  scene. 
Under  the  dark  shadows  of  the  spreading  grove, 
treading  on  a  lawn  where  the  wild  flower,  the  myrtle, 
and  the  laurel  were  strangely  mingled,  they  bore  him 
toward  that  portal  which  had  last  seen  him  depart 
near  the  close  of  the  preceding  year,  impelled  again 
to  cross  the  mountains,  and  to  tread  the  Halls  of 
Congress,  because  there  had  come  to  him  a  rumor  of 
a  threatened  resumption  of  sectional  controversies. 

"They  gently  laid  him  beneath  his  own  roof,  and 
in  that  room  where  he  had,  for  half  a  century,  re- 
ceived the  homage  of  countless  thousands,  represent- 
ing all  classes  and  callings, — the  gifted  and  the  great 
of  either  sex,  —  coming  from  every  country,  and  tra- 
velling from  all  directions,  to  Lexington,  that  tney 
might  thus,  in  person,  pay  tribute  to  the  worth,  the 
genius,  the  patriotism,  and  surpassing  excellence  of 
the  public  and  private  character  of  the  illustrious 
host. 

"Beside  the  bier  were  gathered  his  sons,  some  of 
his  grandsons,  and  nephews ;  behind  these  the  family 
servants. 

"  The  Clay  Guard,  of  Cincinnati,  solicited  the  honor 
of  watching  over  his  remains  —  this,  the  last  night 
before  sepulture. 

"For  the  deep  hours  of  the  night, — alone  with  him 
and  her  God, — the  widow  knelt  beside  her  husband's 
corpse.  For  that  hour  it  was  directed  that  she  should 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  269 

not  be  disturbed.  In  that  hour  what  other  heart 
knew  her  thronging  memories  of  joys  and  sorrows, 
save  the  spirit  of  the  dead  she  longed  to  join.  They 
had  commenced  together  the  struggles  of  life.  To- 
gether they  had  planned  their  home,  —  together  they 
had  arranged  their  grounds,  and  with  their  own  hands 
had  planted  the  young  shoots  of  what  now  were  the 
stately  trees  of  Ashland.  Life  had  opened  to  them 
full  of  bright  hope  and  promise  that  belong  to  youth, 
energy,  and  commanding  abilities.  She  had  seen 
him  leap  into  a  dazzling  greatness,  reflecting  honor 
and  dignity  upon  his  native  land,  lifting  his  young 
State  to  the  front  rank  of  her  compeers,  and  confer- 
ring prosperity  upon  his  country  and  her  citizens, 
while  he  gave  stability  and  permanence  to  the  insti- 
tutions and  laws  of  the  laud,  and  cemented  together 
the  Union,  as  he  ardently  desired,  prayed  for,  and 
labored  ceaselessly  to  accomplish,  from  end  to  end,— 
from  centre  to  circumference.  There  were  born  to 
them,  in  this  happy  home,  eleven  children  —  six 
daughters  and  five  sons.  Where  are  they  now  ?  No 
daughter  survived  on  whose  breast  that  aged  head 
could  rest.  Four  sons  only  remained,  and  one  a 
lunatic. 

"In  that  dread  hour,  through  her  thronging  mind 
passed  the  remembrance  of  a  lifetime.  She  had  the 
sympathy  and  regard  of  millions,  and  in  that  watch 
of  the  dead  she  was  accompanied  by  the  thoughts  of 
countless  thousands,  who  remembered  what  event  the 
morrow  was  to  commemorate  in  history. 

"  Long  before  the  day  had  fairly  broke  (Saturday, 
July  10),  every  avenue  of  approach  to  the  city  was 
23* 


270  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

crowded  by  those  who  came  to  Lexington  to  render 
their  last  tribute  to  him  who  had  always,  living,  re- 
ceived their  measureless  devotion.  It  was  computed 
that  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  persons,  of  all 
classes  and  sexes,  had  come  together  on  that  memo- 
rable occasion. 

"  At  an  early  hour,  those  appointed  to  meet  at 
Ashland  had  gathered  together  within  the  house:  the 
pall-bearers,  his  oldest  and  most  distinguished  friends 
in  Kentucky,  the  Senate  Committee,  and  the  depu- 
tation from  New  York,  his  family  and  kindred.  In 
front  were  arranged  the  deputations  from  other  States 
from  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  a  dense  crowd  were 
in  a  semi-circular  array  before  the  porch.  Upon  a 
bier,  cushioned  with  flowers,  and  immediately  in 
front  of  the  door,  they  laid  the  iron  coffin  that  in- 
closed the  body  of  Henry  Clay.  Upon  it  shone  a 
clear,  cloudless  sky.  Upon  the  breast  of  it  reposed 
the  civic  wreaths,  while  strewed  around  were  the 
floral  offerings  of  every  principal  place  from  the  Na- 
tional Capitol  to  the  grave. 

"From  Washington  to  the  tomb  was  one  votive 
offering  of  wreaths  of  oak,  immortelles,  the  cypress, 
the  ivy,  and  the  laurel, — bouquets  of  flowers  of  every 
species,  and  in  wondrous  profusion.  It  was  no  un- 
frequent  sight  to  witness  youth  and  beauty  bend  and 
press  their  lips  upon  his  sable  shroud.  Old  men 
would  pause  beside  his  iron  case,  and  burst  into  un- 
controllable sobs.  Early  manhood  and  middle  age, 
that  had  banked  their  hopes  in  him,  and  clung  to  him 
as  their  chieftain  and  their  leader,  to  the  last  moment 
resisting  the  assured  certainty  that  they  were  no  more 


OF    HENRY    CLAT.  271 

to  listen  to  that  silver  voice,  nor  hang  upon  its  tones, 
with  speechless  woe  at  length  realized,  that  for  the 
future,  his  memory  and  the  preservation  of  his  pa- 
triotic principles  were  their  future  charge. 

"His  late  colleagues  in  the  Senate, — that  reverend 
band  of  chosen  intimates,  who  were  honored  as  his 
pall-hearers,  the  New  York  delegation,  and  his  family 
kindred,  grouped  near  the  porch  and  within  his 
dwelling;  on  the  porch  stood  the  minister  of  God,  at 
whose  hand  he  had  received  the  sacrament,  when  last 
he  was  alive,  within  those  halls,  —  the  same  minister 
who  had  baptized  him,  his  children  that  were  left  to 
him,  and  the  children  of  his  dead  son,  Colonel  Clay, 
— while  all  around  the  eye  rested  on  his  near  friends 
and  neighbors,  who  were  there  assembled,  and  yet 
without  these,  lines  of  people  from  many  States,  and 
the  far-off  counties  of  his  own. 

"The  funeral  services  were  performed  by  the  Rev. 
Edward  F.  Berkley,  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  Lex- 
ington, who  delivered  the  following  address  before 
the  procession  moved  from  Ashland : 

"  MY  FRIENDS:  A  nation's  griefs  are  bursting  forth 
at  the  fall  of  one  of  her  noblest  sons. 

"A  mighty  man  in  wisdom,  —  in  intellect,  —  in 
truth,  lies  in  our  presence  to-day,  insensible,  inani- 
mate, and  cold.  The  heart  which  once  beat  with  a 
pure  and  lofty  patriotism,  shall  beat  no  more.  The 
renowned  statesman,  who  was  learned  in  the  laws  of 
diplomacy  and  government,  will  never  again  give  his 
counsel  in  affairs  of  State.  And  the  voice  which  was 
ever  raised  in  behalf  of  truth  and  liberty,  is  silenced 
forever ! 


272  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

"Indulge  me  in  a  remark  or  two,  while  I  speak  of 
him ;  and  in  consideration  of  the  personal  comfort 
of  this  immense  assembly,  my  words  shall  be  few 

"This  is  neither  a  proper  place  nor  a  fit  occasion 
to  dwell  on  the  peculiar  and  striking  incidents  of  his 
public  life ;  and  I  mean  to  say  a  few  words  only  of 
his  character  as  viewed  in  connection  with  religion. 

"We  have  not  come  here  to  weave  a  garland  of 
praises  for  the  brow  of  the  fallen  statesman,  nor  to 
throw  the  incense  of  adulation  upon  the  urn  which 
incloses  his  ashes;  but  we  have  come  here  to  pay  the 
last  offices  of  respect  and  affection  to  a  neighbor  and 
a  friend ;  and  to  draw,  from  the  visitation  which  has 
stricken  down  one  of  the  mightiest  of  our  mighty 
men,  such  lessons  as  are  calculated  to  teach  us  *  what 
shadows  we  are,  and  what  shadows  we  pursue.' 

"  Our  venerated  friend  has  been  before  the  public 
eye  for  half  a  century ;  and  for  nearly  the  whole  of 
that  period  in  the  occupancy  of  high  public  places. 
He  has  done  the  State  great  service.  He  combined 
in  his  character  such  elements  as  could  make  him  no 
other  man  than  he  was,  except  that  he  might  have 
been  as  great  a  soldier  as  he  was  a  statesman  and 
orator.  But  the  crowning  excellence  of  all  his  vir- 
tues was  this  —  he  was  a  Christian. 

"As  he  was  eminently  open,  candid,  and  honest, 
in  his  long  public  career,  so  was  he  deeply  sincere  in 
his  adoption,  as  the  rule  of  his  life,  of  the  principles 
ot  our  holv  religion. 

*  O 

"Although  the  suns  of  seventy  summers  had  nhone 
down  upon  him  before  he  made  a  public  profession 
of  Christ,  yet,  when  he  did  make  it,  he  did  it,  not 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  273 

mechanically,  and  as  a  matter  of  course,  because  he 
was  an  old  man,  —  he  did  it  heartily,  and  upon  con- 
viction, because  he  felt  himself  to  be  a  sinner,  and 
because  he  felt  the  need  of  a  Saviour!  And  when  he 
came  to  make  inquiry,  What  shall  I  do?  and  it  was 
told  him  what  he  ought  to  do, — he  did  it  gladly, — he 
made  haste  to  fulfil  the  purposes  of  his  heart !  And 
his  great  mind  being  brought  to  the  investigation  of 
the  pure  and  simple  doctrines  of  the  Cross,  new 
beauties,  in  a  new  world,  broke  in  upon  him,  of  the 
existence  of  which,  to  their  full  extent,  he  had  never 
dreamed  before.  And  I  know  that  in  times  when 
he  lay  under  the  hand  of  disease,  and  of  great  bodily 
infirmity,  here  at  home,  he  clung  to  those  doctrines, 
by  a  lively  faith,  as  the  highest  consolation  of  his 
BO  ul. 

<l  Although  he  had  his  Church  preferences,  yet  tho 
power  and  influence  of  the  teachings  of  Christianity, 
rightly  understood,  gave  rise  to  sympathies  in  his 
nature  which  extended  to  all  Christian  people. 

"  Surrounded  as  he  was  by  the  allurements  and  fas- 
cination of  a  high  public  place,  nevertheless,  he  strove 
to  walk  in  the  pure  and  perfect  way ;  and  by  a  steady 
maintenance  of  the  principles  which  bound  him  to 
religion  and  to  God,  like  the  eagle,  with  his  eye  fix^d 
upon  the  sun,  his  course  was  onward  and  upward f 

"And  these  principles,  which  our  illustrious  friend 
found  so  comforting  and  consoling  in  life,  did  not 
forsake  him  when  he  had  nothing  else  on  earth  to 
cling  to. 

"  In  reference  to  some  of  his  last  hours,  a  lady  con- 
nected with  him  by  family,  who  rece  itly  spent  sove- 

8 


274  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

ral  days  at  his  bedside,  writes:  'He  is  longing  to  be 
gone,  and  said  something  of  this  kind  to  me,  which 
caused  me  to  ask  him  if  he  did  not  feel  perfectly  will- 
ing to  wait  until  the  Almighty  called  him.  He  re- 
plied, O,  my  dear  child,  do  not  misunderstand  me,— 
I  supplicate  Him  continually  for  patience  to  do  so.  I 
am  ready  to  go, — no,  not  ready,  but  willing.  "We  are 
none  of  us  ready.  We  cannot  trust  in  our  own 
merits,  but  must  look  to  Him  entirely.' 

"  The  writer  adds :  'He  is  the  most  gentle,  patient, 
and  affectionate  sick  person  I  almost  ever  saw, — • 
thanks  you  for  everything,  and  is  as  little  trouble  as 
he  can  possibly  be.' 

"And  this  is  the  power  of  religion  upon  a  vigorous 
and  discriminating  mind  —  a  mind  fully  capable  of 
meeting  all  the  great  emergencies  which  have  ever 
arisen  in  its  collisions  with  other  great  minds,  at  the 
bar,  in  the  Senate,  and  in  the  forum. 

"And  oh!  the  recollection  to  mourning  friends, 
and  to  a  mourning  country,  is  of  the  most  consoling 
interest,  that  as  in  his  life,  by  his  genius  and  wisdom, 
he  threw  light,  and  peace,  and  blessing  upon  his 
country,  so,  in  his  death,  the  glorious  Giver  of  grace 
and  wisdom  threw  light,  and  peace,  and  blessing 
upon  him, — borne  upward,  as  he  was,  by  the  aspira- 
tions to  heaven  of  a  million  hearts. 

"But  his  earthly  career  is  run.  Full  of  age  and 
full  of  honors,  lie  goes  down  to  earth,  to  ashes,  and 
to  dust.  A  man  of  extraordinary  genius;  a  man  of 
the  highest  practical  wisdom,  possessing  the  largest 
powers  of  true  eloquence  —  a  pure  patriot,  a  sincere 
Christian,  and  a  friend  of  his  race. 


OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

"His  friends  will  grieve  for  him  —  the  Church  has 
lost  him — his  country  will  hewail  him;  and  hereafter, 
when  the  passing  traveller  shall  come  to  Ashland, 
and  look  for  the  bland,  agreeable,  and  hospitable 
host,  he  will  not  find  him  here  !  His  aged  wife,  who, 
for  more  than  fifty  years,  has  grieved  with  him  in  hia 
sorrows,  and  rejoiced  with  him  in  his  public  success, 
shall  go  down  unto  the  grave,  mourning;  and  men 
in  every  civilized  nation  of  the  earth  will  shed  a  tear 
at  the  fall  of  such  a  man.  But  he  has  gone  to  a 
brighter  and  a  better  world  ;  while  this  memorial 
shall  remain  of  him  here,  that  he  was  as  simple  and 
sincere  in  his  religion,  as  he  was  great  in  wisdom  and 
mighty  in  intellect. 

"  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  Neither  genius, 
nor  wisdom,  nor  power,  nor  greatness  can  avert  the 
fatal  darts  which  fly  thick  and  fast  around  us.  If 
public  services  of  the  highest  value,  a  fair  fame  which 
reaches  to  the  utmost  habitations  of  civilized  man, 
and  integrity  as  stern  as  steel,  could  have  done  this, 
a  nation  had  not  been  in  tears  to-day. 

"But  the  great  and  the  humble,  the  useful  and  the 
useless,  the  learned  and  the  ignorant,  the  mighty  and 
the  mean,  the  public  and  the  private  man,  must  all 
alike  lie  down  in  the  cold  chambers  of  the  grave! 
Death  is  the  common  leveller  of  men  and  of  nations. 
Temples  and  monuments,  which  have  been  erected 
to  perpetuate  the  achievements  of  statesmen  and  of 
heroes  in  past  ages,  have  been  ruined  and  robbed  of 
their  grandeur  by  the  insatiate  tooth  of  time, — not  u 
vestige  remains  of  the  glory  that  once  covered  vhe 


276  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

earth,  and  not  a  stone  to  mark  the  spot  where  the 
master  of  the  world  was  laid. 

"And  this  is  the  end  of  man  !  This  the  obscurity 
and  oblivion  to  which  he  shall  come  at  last !  But  his 
end  may  be  worse  than  this,  if  he  has  no  hope  in  the 
blessed  SAVIOUR'S  death.  For  whoever  confides  in 
the  world  for  the  bestowment  of  true  happiness  — 
whoever  trusts  to  its  gains,  its  pleasures,  or  its  honors, 
to  bring  him  peace  at  the  last,  will  find  himself  mise- 
rably imposed  upon,  and  grievously  deluded.  lie 
will  find  that  this  misplaced  confidence  will  involve 
him  in  ruin,  as  inevitable  as  it  will  be  eternal ! 

"'Lean  not  on  earth!  'twill  pierce  thee  to  the  heart ;  — 
A  broken  reed  at  best,  but  oft  a  spear! 
On  its  sharp  point,  peace  bleeds  and  hope  expires.' 

"If  we  aspire  to  a  true,  a  deathless  immortality,  let 
us  not  seek  it  in  the  praises  of  men,  or  in  the  enrol- 
ment of  our  name  upon  the  page  of  history;  for  these 
all  shall  perish !  But  let  us  seek,  by  obedience  to 
God  and  a  recognition  of  the  claims  of  religion,  to 
have  our  names  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life. 
This,  and  this  only,  will  guarantee  an  immortality  as 
imperishable  as  the  heavens,  and  as  certain  as  the 
Life  of  God. 

"The  observation  is  almost  universal,  that  'all 
men  think  all  men  mortal  but  themselves.'  And  yet 
there  is  nothing  more  surely  reserved  for  us  in  the 
future  than  disease  and  dissolution.  And  these,  loo, 
may,  and  very  often  do,  come  when  we  are  least  ex- 
pecting a  disturbance  of  our  plans. 

"  The  statesman  falls  with  plans  of  future  glory  yet 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  277 

nnaccomplished  ;  the  poet  expires  in  the  midst  of  his 
Bong,  and  the  magic  of  his  muse  lingers  on  his  dying 
lips;  the  sculptor  drops  his  chisel  before  he  has 
taught  the  marble  to  breathe,  and  the  painter  his 
pencil,  while  the  living  figures  on  his  canvas  are  yet 
unfinished ;  the  sword  slips  from  the  hand  of  the 
warrior  before  the  battle  is  won  ;  and  the  orator  is 
silenced  while  the  words  of  wisdom  are  yet  dropping 
in  sweetest  accents  from  his  lips. 

"  *  I  said,  Ye  are  gods,  and  children  of  the  Most 
High,  but  ye  shall  die  like  men.' 

"No  consideration  can  purchase  a  moment's  respite 
when  the  decree  shall  go  forth,  'This  night  thy  soul 
shall  be  required  of  thee!'  whether  it  be  uttered  at 
the  doors  of  the  stately  mansion,  or  at  the  cot  of  the 
lowly  poor.  And  not  to  be  wisely  and  well  prepared 
to  hear  this  summons,  is  destructive  of  the  best  inte- 
rests of  the  soul.  Happy  they  who  have  made  a  friend 
in  God.  Happy  they  who  have  done,  and  they  who 
do,  this  in  early  life — the  failing  of  which,  in  his  case, 
our  revered  friend  so  often  himself  regretted — -thrice 
happy  they  in  whom  greatness  and  goodness  meet 
together.  Imperishable  joys  shall  be  awarded  to 
them.  They  shall  shine  as  stars  in  the  firmament 
forever  and  ever.  In  each  successive  generation  their 
*  memory  shall  be  blessed,'  and  their  '  name  be  had 
in  everlasting  remembrance;'  and,  'their  conflicts 
o'er,  their  labors  done,'  the  ransomed  spirit  shall 
escape  from  the  prison  that  confines  it  to  the  earth, 
and  the  King  of  kings  shall  bind  upon  their  victorious 
brow  wreaths  of  unfading  glory  in  that  blessed  place, 
24 


278  T  II  E    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

"  '  "Where  pain,  and  weariness,  and  sorrow  ceaae, 
And  cloudless  sunshine  fills  the  land  of  peace.' 

"  Our  great  friend  and  countryman  is  dead !  lie  has 
no  more  connection  with  the  living  world,  and  we  are 
about  to  bear  his  honored  remains  to  the  beautiful  spot 
where  our  own  dead  lie,  and  around  which  our  me- 
mories love  to  linger.  What  to  him,  I  ask  you,  arc 
now  the  policy  or  the  politics  of  the  country?  What 
to  him,  now,  are  the  nice  points  upon  which  turns 
the  honor  of  the  State?  What  to  him,  now,  is  the 
extension  of  empire?  the  rise  or  fall  of  nations?  the 
dethronement  or  the  establishment  of  kings?  His 
work  is  done,  and  well  done.  As  it  is  with  him,  so 
shall  it  shortly  be  with  every  one  of  us.  Then, 

" '  So  live,  that  when  thy  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan  that  moves 
To  the  pale  realm  of  shade,  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death, 
Thou  go  not,  like  the  quarry-slave  at  night, 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon ;  but  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  thy  grave 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams.' 

"  One  word  more.  The  distinguished  subject  of 
our  present  attention  has  fallen  a  martyr  to  hfe  coun- 
try. The  cause  of  his  sickness  and  his  death  origin- 
ate.! in  his  last  great  efforts  in  securing  the  passage, 
through  Congress,  of  certain  measures,  known  as  THK 
COMPROMISE.  In  more  senses  than  one  may  he  receive 
the  heavenly  welcome,  'Well  done,  good  and  faith- 
ful servant.'  His  love  of  country — his  enthusiasm  in 
any  cause  in  which  her  interests  were  involved — his 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  279 

great  and  singular  powers  —  his  wonderful  and  con- 
trolling influence  over  even  great  minds,  marked  him 
as  the  man  of  the  age,  and  adapted  him,  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner,  to  act  and  lead  in  grave  matters  of  Gov- 
ernment. 

"  And  if,  in  the  future,  an}-  one  section  of  this  great 
Republic  should  be  arrayed  in  hostility  against  an- 
other, and  any  cruel  hand  shall  be  uplifted  to  sever 
the  bonds  which  unite  us  together  as  a  common 
people  —  the  Genius  of  Liberty  shall  come  down  in 
anguish  and  in  tears,  and  throwing  herself  prostrate 
before  his  tomb,  implore  the  Mighty  Ruler  of  nations 
—  for  the  preservation  of  our  institutions,  and  the 
protection  of  our  liberty  and  of  our  Union  —  to  raise 
up  from  his  ashes,  another  Clay. 

"  The  marshals  of  the  day  then  formed  the  long 
procession,  which  moved  from  Ashland,  through  Lex- 
ington, to  the  cemetery  at  the  north  of  the  city,  where 
were  deposited  the  remains  of  HEXRY  CLAY,  TO  REST 

UNTIL    THE    MORNING    OF    THE    RESURRECTION." 

The  life  and  career  of  Henry  Clay,  when  taken  as 
a  whole-,  notwithstanding  his  several  defeats  and  dis- 
appointments, was  a  grand  and  magnificent  success. 
He,  more  emphatically  than  any  other  man,  was,  and 
will  continue  to  be,  the  great  representative  of  Ame- 
rican ecatesrnen  and  orators.  Inferior  he  may  have 
been  to  Webster  as  a  jurist,  to  Van  Buren  as  a  tac- 
tician, to  Calhoun  as  a  logician,  to  John  Quincy  Adams 
as  a  man  of  letters ;  but  he  was  superior  to  them  all 
when  regarded  as  a  single  intellectual  entity;  the  ag- 
gregate mass  of  his  faculties  was  more  varied  and  im- 
posing, and  the  incidents  of  his  public  career  were 


280  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

more  remarkable  and  striking,  than  those  of  any  of 
his  contemporaries.  Let  us,  in  conclusion,  take  a  very 
brief  survey  of  his  whole  personality,  and  glance  at 
those  qualities  and  characteristics  which  gave  him 
so  marvellous  a  hold  upon  the  admiration  of  hia 
countrymen. 

In  person,  Mr.  Clay  was  tall  and  well-proportioned; 
possessing  all  those  physical  advantages  which  are 
desirable  for  the  orator,  and  which  contribute  to  his 
supremacy  and  success.  Among  these  peculiarities 
there  was  one  in  which  he  excelled  all  his  rivals  and  as- 
eociates,  and  which  was  one  of  the  most  effectual  agents 
of  his  power.  He  possessed  a  voice  of  the  most  me- 
lodious tone,  of  the  greatest  flexibility,  and  of  the 
widest  compass;  and  so  remarkable  was  his  skill  in 
using  it,  that  by  its  witchery  he  often  succeeded  in 
gaining  the  co-operation  of  adverse  Senators  and 
lukewarm  partisans,  when  the  case  seemed  otherwise 
hopeless,  and  far  beyond  the  reach  of  any  ordinary 
influence.  His  natural  talents  were  of  the  highest 
order,  of  the  class  to  which  they  belon'ged.  These 
were  the  peculiar  faculties  which  rendered  him  a 
natural  orator;  but  it  must  not  be  inferred,  from  this 
fact,  that  he  had  not  cultivated  these  gifts  with  as- 
siduous care.  The  contrary  was  the  fact;  and  few 
actors  on  the  scenic  stage  ever  attained  greater  skill 
than  he,  in  all  the  arts  of  declamation,  and  the  graces 
of  delivery.  His  eloquence  was  admirably  adapted 
both  to  the  popular  assembly,  to  the  halls  of  legisla- 
tion, and  to  the  bar.  As  a  lawyer,  his  chief  supe- 
riority consisted  in  the  prodigious  influence  Mid 
power  which  he  exercised  over  a  jury.  He  could 


or  HE  NUT  CLAT.  281 

touch  all  the  springs  of  human  feeling  and  emotion 
with  masterly  skill ;  and  cause  them  to  flow  forth,  at 
his  will,  in  an  abundant  and  obedient  torrent.  His 
legal  knowledge  was  sufficient  for  all  the  exigencies 
of  hia  practice ;  and  his  natural  powers  of  compre- 
hension and  acquisition  were  so  great,  that  even  a 
little  learning  became  much  more  available  with 
him,  than  a  much  profounder  and  richer  store,  in  the 
minds  and  mouths  of  other  less  gifted  competitors ; 
while  also,  his  superior  mental  grasp  enabled  him 
easily  and  quickly  to  master  the  law  involved  in  all 
the  particular  cases  which  came  within  the  range  of 
his  professional  duties. 

But  the  scene  of  Mr.  Clay's  greatest  glory  was  the 
Senate  chamber  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  that 
especially  on  great  and  perilous  crises  in  his  country's 
history.  No  man  understood  better  than  he  how  to 
lead  on  and  to  marshal,  to  the  best  advantage,  the 
forces  of  his  own  party ;  and  how  to  assail,  confound, 
and  conquer  the  leaders  of  the  adverse  faction.  Every 
species  of  oratory  was  at  his  command,  and  read}7  for 
use,  as  occasion  might  demand  ;  and  argument,  ridi- 
cule, illustration,  narrative,  wit,  repartee,  sarcasm,  in- 
vective—  all  were  within  his  reach,  at  a  moment's 
warning.  And  when  mere  eloquence,  when  the  art 
of  the  consummate  rhetorician  failed,  in  some  mo- 
ment of  real  peril  to  the  interests  and  welfare  of  his 
country ;  and  when  deeds  and  not  words  became  the 
only  essential  and  indispensable  means  of  averting 
disaster,  and  perpetuating  the  liberties  which  were  so 
inestimable  —  then  Henry  Clay  ascended  in  the  scale 
of  intellectual  power  and  grandeur,  and  expanded 
24* 


282  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

from  the  simple  orator  to  tlie  sublime  proportions  of 
the  statesman.  It  was  he  who,  in  such  crises,  was 
unrivalled  in  the  fertility  with  which  he  devised,  the 
promptitude  with  which  he  proposed,  and  the  hero- 
ism with  which  he  advocated,  those  resolute  and 
honorable  measures  which  were  calculated  to  avert 
danger,  to  secure  unity,  and  to  perpetuate  the  pros- 
perity and  glory  of  the  nation.  In  this  high  and 
noble  function,  this  vast  Confederacy,  prolific  as  it 
has  been,  and  is,  in  talented  and  capable  men,  has 
never  yet  produced  the  equal  of  Henry  Clay;  who 
seemed  to  have  been  adapted  by  ever}'  physical, 
mental,  and  social  qualification  which  he  possessed, 
to  win  and  forever  retain  the  first  place  among  the 
statesmen  and  orators  of  the  land  of  his  birth.  What 
Demosthenes  was  to  Athens,  what  Cicero  became  to 
Rome,  what  William  Pitt  was  to  England,  such  was 
Henry  Clay  to  the  great  Republic  of  the  Western 
World ;  and  as  such,  he  will  be  enshrined  in  the 
memory  and  affections  of  the  millions  yet  unborn, 
who  shall  successively  rise  and  figure  on  this  grand 
stage  of  action,  till  the  latest  period  of  recorded  time. 

Subsequent  to  the  burial  of  Henry  Clay,  John  J. 
Crittenden  was  requested  by  the  citizens  of  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  to  pronounce  a  eulogy  upon  his  life  and 
character.  He  complied  with  the  invitation  ;  and  on 
the  29th  of  September,  1852,  delivered  the  following 
elaborate  and  masterly  address  to  an  immense  assem- 
blage in  that  city;  which  we  here  insert,  as  furnish- 
ing an  appropriate  conclusion  of  this  record  of  Mr. 
Clay's  memorable  career: 

"  LADIES  AND   GENTLEMEN  :  —  I  am  very  sensible 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  283 

of  the  difficulty  and  magnitude  of  the  task  which  I 
have  undertaken.  I  am  to  address  you  in  comme- 
moration of  the  public  services  of  Henry  Clay,  and 
in  celebration  of  his  obsequies.  His  death  filled  hia 
whole  country  with  mourning;  and  the  loss  of  no 
citizen,  save  the  Father  of  his  Country,  has  ever  pro- 
duced such  manifestations  of  the  grief  and  homage 
of  the  public  heart.  His  history  has  indeed  been  read 
*in  a  nation's  eyes.'  A  nation's  tears  proclaim,  with 
their  silent  eloquence,  its  sense  of  the  national  loss. 
Kentucky  lias  more  than  a  common  share  in  this 
national  bereavement.  To  her  it  is  a  domestic  grief 
—  to  her  belongs  the  sad  privilege  of  being  the  chief 
mourner.  He  was  her  favorite  son,  her  pride,  and 
her  glory.  She  mourns  for  him  as  a  mother.  But 
let  her  not  mourn  as  those  who  have  no  hope  of  con- 
solation. She  can  find  the  richest  and  the  noblest 
solace  in  the  memory  of  her  son,  and  of  his  great 
and  good  actions;  and  his  fame  will  come  back,  like 
a  comforter  from  his  grave,  to  wipe  away  her  tears. 
Even  while  she  weeps  for  him,  her  tears  shall  be  min- 
gled with  the  proud  feelings  of  triumph  which  hia 
name  will  inspire;  and  Old  Kentucky,  from  the 
depths  of  her  affectionate  and  heroic  heart,  shall  ex- 
claim, like  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  when  informed  that 
his  brave  sou  had  fallen  in  battle,  '  I  would  not  ex- 
change my  dead  sou  for  any  living  son  in  Christen- 
dom.' 

"From  these  same  abundant  sources  we  may  hope 
that  the  widowed  partner  of  his  life,  who  now  sits  in 
sadness  at  Ashland,  will  derive  some  pleasing  conso- 
lation. I  presume  not  to  offer  any  words  of  comfort 


284  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

of  my  own.     Her  grief  is  too  sacred  to  permit  me  to 
use  that  privilege. 

"You,  sons  and  daughters  of  Kentucky,  have  as- 
sembled here  to  commemorate  his  life  and  death. 
How  can  I  address  you  suitably  on  such  a  theme? 
I  feel  the  oppressive  consciousness  that  I  cannot  do 
it  in  terms  adequate  to  the  subject,  or  to  your  excited 
feelings.  I  am  no  orator,  nor  have  I  come  here  to 
attempt  any  idle  or  vainglorious  display  of  words; 
I  come  as  a  plain  Kentuckian,  who,  s}rmpathizing  in 
all  your  feelings,  presents  you  with  this  address,  as 
his  poor  offering,  to  be  laid  upon  that  altar  which 
you  are  here  erecting  to  the  memory  of  Henry  Clay. 
Let  it  not  be  judged  according  to  its  own  value,  but 
according  to  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  offered. 

"  It  would  be  no  difficult  task  to  address  you,  on 
this  occasion,  in  the  extravagant  and  rhetorical  lan- 
guage that  is  usual  in  funeral  orations.  But  my  sub- 
ject deserves  a  different  treatment.  The  monumental 
name  of  Henry  Clay  rises  above  all  mere  personal 
favor  and  flattery ;  it  rejects  them,  and  challenges  the 
scrutiny  and  the  judgment  of  the  world.  The  noble 
use  to  which  his  name  should  be  applied,  is  to  teach 
his  country,  by  his  example,  lessons  of  public  virtue 
and  political  wisdom  ;  to  teach  patriots  and  states- 
men how  to  act,  how  to  live,  and  how  to  die.  I  can 
but  glance  at  a  subject  that  spreads  out  in  such  bright 
and  boundless  expanse  before  me. 

"Henry  Clay  lived  in  a  most  eventful  period,  and 
the  history  of  his  life  for  forty  years  has  been  literally 
that  of  his  country.  He  was  so  identified  with  the 
Government  for  more  than  two-thirds  of  its  exist- 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  285 

ence,  that  during  that  time  hardly  any  act,  which  has 
redounded  to  its  honor,  its  prosperity,  its  present 
rank  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  can  be  spoken 
of  without  calling  to  mind,  involuntarily,  the  linea- 
ments of  his. noble  person.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
determine  whether  in  peace  or  in  war;  in  the  field 
of  legislation  or  of  diplomacy;  in  the  spring-tide  of 
his  life,  or  in  its  golden  ebb,  he  won  the  highest 
honor.  It  can  be  no  disparagement  to  anyone  of  his 
contemporaries  to  say,  that,  in  all  the  points  of  practi- 
cal statesmanship,  he  encountered  no  superior  in  any 
of  the  employments  which  his  constituents  or  his 
country  conferred  upon  him. 

"  For  the  reason  that  he  had  been  so  much  and  so 
constantly  in  the  public  eye,  an  elaborate  review  of 
his  life  will  not  be  expected  of  me.  All  that  I  shall 
attempt  will  be  to  sketch  a  few  leading  traits,  which 
may  serve  to  give  those  who  have  had  fewer  opportu- 
nities of  observation  than  I  had,  something  like  a 
just  idea  of  his  public  character  and  services.  If,  in 
doing  this,  I  speak  more  at  large  of  the  earlier  than 
of  the  later  period  of  his  life,  it  is  because,  in  regard 
to  the  former,  though  of  vast  consequence,  inter- 
vening years  have  thrown  them  somewhat  in  the  back- 
ground. 

"Passing  by,  therefore,  the  prior  service  of  Mr.  Clay 
in  the  Senate  for  brief  periods  in  1806  and  '10-'ll,  I 
come  at  once  to  his  Speakership  in  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives, and  his  consequent  agencv  in  the  war 
of  1812. 

"To  that  war  our  country  is  indebted  for  much  of 
the  security,  freedom,  prosperity,  and  reputation 


286  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

which  it  now  enjoys.  It  has  been  truly  said  by  one 
of  the  living  actors  in  that  perilous  era  [Hon.  Mr. 
Rush],  that  the  very  act  of  going  to  war  was  heroic. 
By  the  supremacy  of  the  naval  power  of  England, 
the  fleets  of  all  Europe  had  been  swept  from  the  sons; 
the  banner  of  the  United  States  alone  floated  in  soli- 
tary fearlessness.  England  seemed  to  encircle  the 
earth  with  her  navies,  and  to  be  the  undisputed  mis- 
tress of  the  ocean.  We  went  out  upon  the  deep  with 
a  sling  in  our  hands.  When,  in  all  time,  were  such 
fearful  odds  seen  as  we  had  against  us? 

"  The  events  of  the  war  with  England,  so  memo- 
rable, and  even  wonderful,  are  too  familiar  to  all  to 
require  any  particular  recital  on  that  occasion.  Of 
that  war — of  its  causes  and  consequences — of  its  dis- 
asters, its  bloody  battles,  and  its  glorious  victories  by 
land  and  sea,  history  and  our  own  official  records  have 
given  a  faithful  narrative.  A  just  national  pride  has 
engraven  that  narrative  upon  our  hearts.  But  even 
in  the  fiercest  conflicts  of  that  war,  there  was  nothing 
more  truly  heroic  than  the  declaration  of  it  by 
Congress. 

"Of  that  declaration  —  of  the  incidents,  personal 
influences,  and  anxious  deliberations  which  preceded 
and  led  to  it — the  history  is  not  so  well  or  general!}7 
known.  The  more  it  is  known,  the  more  it  will 
appear  how  important  was  the  part  that  Mr.  Clay 
acted,  and  how  much  we  are  indebted  to  him  for  all 
the  glorious  and  beneficial  issues  of  the  declaration 
of  that  war,  which  has  not  inappropriately  been  called 
the  Second  War  of  Independence. 

"The  public  grounds  of  the  war  were  the  injustice, 


OP    HENRY    CLAY.  28T 

injury,  and  insults  inflicted  on  the  United  States  by 
the  Government  of  Great  Britain,  then  engaged  in  a 
war  of  maritime  edicts  with  France,  of  which  the 
commerce  of  the  United  States  was  the  victim ;  our 
merchant  ships  being  captured  by  British  cruisers  on 
every  sea,  and  confiscated  by  her  courts,  in  utter  con- 
tempt of  the  rights  of  this  nation  as  an  independent 
power.  Added  to  this,  and  more  offensive  than  even 
these  outrages,  was  the  arrogation  by  the  same  power 
of  a  right  to  search  American  vessels,  for  the  purpose 
of  impressing  seamen  from  vessels  sailing  under  the 
American  flag.  These  aggressions  upon  our  national 
rights  constituted,  undoubtedly,  justifiable  cause  of 
war.  With  equal  justice  on  our  part,  and  on  the  same 
grounds  (impressment  of  seamen  excepted),  we  should 
have  been  warranted  in  declaring  war  against  France 

o  o 

also  ;  but  common  sense  (not  to  speak  of  policy)  for- 
bade our  engaging  with  two  nations  at  once,  and  dic- 
xtated  the  selection,  as  an  adversary,  of  the  one  that 
had  power,  which  the  other  had  not,  to  carry  its  ar- 
bitrary edicts  into  full  effect.  The  war  was  really,  on 
our  part,  a  war  for  national  existence. 

"When  Congress  assembled  in  November,  1811, 
the  crisis  was  upon  us.  But,  as  may  be  readily  ima- 
gined, it  could  be  no  easy  matter  to  nerve  the  heart 
of  Congress,  all  unprepared  for  the  dread  encounter, 
to  take  the  step,  which  there  could  be  no  retracing, 
of  a  declaration  of  war. 

"Nor  could  that  task,  in  all  probability,  ever  have 
been  accomplished,  but  for  the  concurrence,  purely 
accidental,  of  two  circumstances ;  the  one,  the  pre- 
sence of  Heury  Clay  in  the  Chair  of  the  popular 


288  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

branch  of  the  National  Legislature,  and  the  other, 
that  of  James  Monroe,  as  Secretary  of  State,  in  the 
Executive  Administration  of  the  Government. 

"  Mr.  Monroe  had  returned  but  a  year  or  two  before 
from  a  course  of  public  service  abroad,  in  \\hich,  aa 
Minister  Plenipotentiary,  he  had  represented  the 
United  States  at  the  several  courts,  in  succesbion,  of 
France,  Spain,  and  Great  Britain.  From  the  last  of 
these  missions  he  had  come  home  thoroughly  dis- 
gusted with  the  contemptuous  manner  in  which  the 
rights  of  the  United  States  were  treated  by  the  bel- 
ligerent Powers,  and  especially  by  England.  This 
treatment,  which  even  extended  to  the  personal  inter- 
course between  their  Ministers  and  the  Representative? 
of  this  country,  he  considered  as  indicative  of  a  set- 
tled determination  on  their  parts  —  presuming  upon 
the  supposed  incapacity  of  tliis  Government  for  war 
—  to  reduce  to  at/stem  a  course  of  conduct  calculated 
to  debase  and  prostrate  us  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 
Reasoning  thus,  he  had  brought  his  mind  to  a  serious 
and  firm  conviction,  that  the  rights  of  the  United 
States,  as  a  nation,  would  never  be  respected  by  the 
Powers  of  the  Old  World,  until  this  Government  sum- 
moned up  resolution  to  resist  such  usage,  not  by  ar- 
guments and  protests  merely,  but  by  an  appeal  to 
arms.  Full  of  this  sentiment,  Mr.  Monroe  was  called, 
upon  a  casual  vacaiic\',  when  it  was  least  expected  by 
himself  or  the  country,  to  the  head  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  State.  That  sentiment,  and  the  feelings 
which  we  have  thus  accounted  for,  Mr.  Monroe  soon 
communicated  to  his  associates  in  the  Cabinet, 
and,  in  some  degree,  it  might  well  be  supposed,  to 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  289 

the  great  statesman  then  at  the  head  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

"  The  tone  of  President  Madison's  first  message  to 
Congress  (November  5,  1811),  a  few  months  only 
after  Mr.  Monroe's  accession  to  the  Cabinet,  can  leave 
hardly  a  doubt  in  any  mind  of  such  having  been  the 
case.  That  message  was  throughout  of  the  gravest 
cast,  reciting  the  aggressions  and  aggravations  of 
Great  Britain,  as  demanding  resistance,  and  urging 
upon  Congress  the  duty  of  putting  the  country  'into 
an  armor  and  an  attitude  demanded  by  the  crisis,  and 
corresponding  with  the  national  spirit  and  expec- 
tations.' 

"It  was  precisely  at  this  point  of  time  that  Mr. 
Clay,  having  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  ap- 
peared on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  was  chosen,  almost  by  acclamation,  Speaker  of 
that  body.  From  that  moment  he  exercised  an  in- 
fluence in  a  great  degree  personal,  which  materially 
affected,  if  it  did  not  control,  the  judgment  of  the 
House.  Among  the  very  first  acts  which  devolved 
upon  him,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  was  the  appointment 
of  the  committees  raised  upon  the  President's  mes- 
sage. Upon  the  Select  Committee  of  nine  members, 
to  which  was  referred  'so  much  of  the  message  as 
relates  to  our  foreign  relations,'  he  appointed  a  large 
proportion  from  among  the  fast  friends  of  the  Ad- 
ministration, nearly  all  of  them  being  new  members, 
and  younger  than  himself,  though  he  was  not  then 
more  than  thirty-five  years  of  age.  It  is  impossible, 
at  this  day,  to  call  to  mind  the  names  of  which  this 
committee  was  composed  (Porter,  Calhoun,  and 
25  T 


THE    L  I  *  K    AND    TIMES 

Grundy  being  the  first  named  among  them),  without 
coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the  committee  wae  con- 
stituted with  a  view  to  the  event  predetermined  in 
the  mind  of  the  Speaker.  There  can  be  no  quw';on 
that  when,  quitting  the  Senate,  Mr.  Clay  entered  thb 
Representative  body,  he  had  become  satisfied  that, 
by  the  continued  encroachments  of  Great  Britain  on 
our  national  rights,  the  choice  of  the  country  was 
narrowed  down  to  war  or  submission.  Between  these 
there  could  be  no  hesitation,  in  such  a  mind  as  that 
of  Mr.  Clay,  which  to  choose.  In  this  emergency  he 
acted  for  his  country,  as  he  would,  in  a  like  case,  have 
acted  for  himself.  Desiring  and  cultivating  the  good 
will  of  all,  he  never  shrank  from  any  personal  re- 
sponsibility, nor  cowered  before  any  danger.  More 
than  a  year  before  his  accession  to  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives he  had,  in  a  debate  in  the  Senate,  taken 
occasion  to  say,  that  'he  most  sincerely  desired  peace 
and  amity  with  England ;  that  he  even  preferred  an 
adjustment  of  all  differences  with  her,  to  one  with 
any. other  nation;  but,  if  she  persisted  in  a  denial  of 
justice  to  us,  he  trusted  and  hoped  that  all  hearts 
would  unite  in  a  bold  and  vigorous  vindication  of 
our  rights.'  It  was  in  this  brave  spirit,  animated  to 
increased  fervency  by  intervening  aggressions  from 
the  same  quarter,  that  Mr.  Clay  entered  into  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

"Early  in  the  second  month  of  the  session,  availing 
himself  of  the  right  then  freely  used  by  the  Speaker 
to  engage  in  discussions  while  the  House  was  in 
Committee  of  the  Whole,  he  dashed  into  the  debates 
upon  the  measures  of  military  and  naval  preparation 


OF-HENRYCLAY,  291 

recommended  by  the  President,  and  reported  upon 
favorably  by  the  committee.  He  avowed,  without 
reserve,  that  the  object  of  this  preparation  was  war, 
and  war  with  Great  Britain. 

In  these  debates  he  showed  his  familiarity  with 
all  the  weapons  of  popular  oratory.  In  a  tempest  of 
eloquence,  in  which  he  wielded  alternately  argument, 
persuasion,  remonstrance,  ridicule,  and  reproach,  he 
swept  before  him  all  opposition  to  the  high  resolve  to 
which  he  exhorted  Congress.  To  the  argument  (for 
example)  against  preparing  for  a  war  with  England, 
founded  upon  the  idea  of  her  being  engaged,  in  her 
conflict  with  France,  in  fighting  the  battles  of  the 
world,  he  replied  that  such  a  purpose  would  be  best 
achieved  by  a  scrupulous  observance  of  the  rights  of 
others,  and  by  respecting  that  public  law  which  she 
professed  to  vindicate.  "  Then"  said  he,  "she  would 
command  the  sympathies  of  the  world.  But  what 
are  we  required  to  do,  by  those  who  would  engage 
our  feelings  and  wishes  in  her  behalf?  To  bear  the 
actual  cuffs  of  her  arrogance,  that  we  may  escape  a 
chimerical  French  subjugation.  We  are  called  upon 
to  submit  to  debasement,  dishonor,  and  disgrace ;  to 
bow  the  neck  to  royal  insolence,  as  a  course  of  pre- 
paration for  manly  resistance  to  Gallic  invasion ! 
What  nation,  what  individual,  was  ever  taught  in  the 
schools  of  ignominious  submission  these  patriotic  lessons 
of  freedom  and  independence  ! "  And  to  the  argu- 
ment that  this  Government  was  unfit  for  any  war  but 
a  war  against  invasion  —  so  signally  since  disproved 
by  actual  events  —  he  exclaimed,  with  characteristic 
vehemence,  "  What !  is  it  not  equivalent  to  invasion, 


292  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

if  the  mouth  of  our  harbors  and  outlets  are  blocked 
up,  and  we  are  denied  egress  from  our  own  waters? 
Or,  when  the  burglar  is  at  our  door,  shall  we  bravely 
sally  forth  and  repel  his  felonious  entrance,  or  meanly 
skulk  within  the  cells  of  the  castle?  "What !  shall  it 
be  said  that  our  amor  patrise  is  located  at  these  desks; 
that  we  pmillanimously  cling  to  our  seats  here,  rather 
than  boldly  vindicate  the  most  inestimable  rights  of 
our  country?" 

"While  in  debate  upon  other  occasions,  at  nearly 
the  same  time,  he  showed  how  well  he  could  reason 
upon  a  question  which  demanded  argument  rather 
than  declamation.  To  his  able  support  of  the  propo- 
sition of  Mr.  Cheves  to  add  to  our  then  small  but 
gallant  navy  ten  frigates,  may  be  ascribed  the  success, 
though  by  a  lean  majority,  of  that  proposition.  Re- 
ptying  to  the  objection  urged  with  zeal  by  certain 
members,  that  navies  were  dangerous  to  liberty,  he 
argued  that  the  source  of  this  alarm  was  in  themselves. 
"Gentlemen  fear,"  said  he,  "that  if  we  provide  a 
marine,  it  will  produce  collision  with  foreign  nations, 
plunge  us  into  war,  and  ultimately  overturn  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  country.  Sir,  if  you  wish  to  avoid 
foreign  collision,  you  had  better  abandon  the  ocean, 
surrender  all  your  commerce,  give  up  all  your  pros- 
perity. It  is  the  thing  protected,  not  the  instrument 
of  protection,  that  involves  you  in  war.  Commerce 
engenders  collision,  collision  war,  and  war,  the  argu- 
ment supposes,  leads  to  despotism.  Would  the  coun- 
sels of  that  statesman  be  deemed  wise,  who  would 
recommend  that  the  nation'  should  be  unarmed;  that 
the  art  of  war,  the  martial  spirit  and  martial  exercises, 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  293 

shcnld  be  prohibited;  who  should  declare,  in  a  word, 
that  the  great  bod}-  of  the  people  should  be  taught 
that  national  happiness  was  to  be  found  in  perpetual 
peace  alone?" 

While   Mr.   Clay,   in   the   Capitol,   was   with   his 
trumpet  tongue  rousing  Congress  to  prepare  for  war, 
Mr.  Monroe,  the  Secretary  of  State,  gave  his  powerful 
co-operation,  and  lent  the  Nestor-like  sanction  of  his 
age  and  experience  to  the  bold  measures  of  his  young 
and  more  ardent  compatriot.     It  was  chiefly  through 
their  fearless  influence  that  Congress  was  gradually 
warmed  up  to  a  war  spirit,  and  to  the  adoption  of 
some  preparatory  measures.     But  no  actual  declara- 
tion of  war  had  }*et  been  proposed.     There  was  a 
strong  opposition   in   Congress,  and   the  President, 
Mr.  Madison,  hesitated  to  recommend  it,  only  because 
he   doubted  whether^  Congress  was  yet  sufficiently 
determined  and  resolved  to  maintain  such  a  declara- 
tion, and  to  maintain  it  to  all  the  extremities  of  war. 
The  influence  and  counsel  of  Mr.  Clay  again  pre- 
vailed.    He  waited  upon  the  President,  at  the  head 
of  a  deputation  of  members  of  Congress,  and  assured 
him  of  the  readiness  of  a  majority  of  Congress  to 
vote  the  war  if  recommended  by  him.    Upon  this  the 
President  immediately  recommended  it  by  his  mes- 
sage to  Congress  of  the  first  Monday  of  June,  1812. 
A  bill  declaring  war  with  Great  Britain  soon  followed 
in  Congress,  and,  after  a  discussion  in  secret  session 
for  a  few  days,  became  a  law.     Then  began  the  war. 
When  the  doors  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
were  opened,  the  debates  which  had  taken  place  in 
secret  session  were  spoken  of  and  repeated;  and  it 
25* 


294  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

appeared,  as  must  have  been  expected  by  all,  that 
Mr.  Clay  had  heen  the  great  defender  and  champion 
of  the  declaration  of  war. 

Mr.  Clay  continued  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives for  some  time  after  the  commencement  of  the 
war,  and  having  assisted  in  doing  all  that  could  be 
done  for  it  in  the  way  of  legislation,  was  withdrawn 
from  his  position  in  Congress  to  share  in  the  delibe- 
rations of  the  great  conference  of  American  and  Bri- 
tish Commissioners  held  at  Ghent.  His  part  in  that 
convention  was  such  as  might  have  been  expected 
from  his  course  in  Congress  —  high-toned  and  high- 
Bpirited,  despairing  of  nothing. 

I  need  not  add,  but  for  form,  that  acting  in  this 
spirit,  Mr.  Clay  and  his  patriotic  and  able  associates 
succeeded  beyond  all  the  hopes  at  that  time  enter- 
tained at  home,  in  making  a  treaty  which,  in  putting 
a  stop  to  the  war,  if  it  did  not  accomplish  everything 
contended  for,  saved  and  secured  at  all  points  the 
honor  of  the  United  States. 

Thus  began  and  ended  the  war  of  1812.  On  our 
part  it  was  just  and  necessary,  and,  in  its  results, 
eminently  beneficial  and  honorable. 

The  benefits  of  it  have  extended  to  all  the  w  5rld ; 
for  in  vindicating  our  own  maritime  rights,  we  ^sta- 
blished  the  freedom  of  the  seas  to  all  nations,  and 
since  then  no  one  of  them  has  arrogated  or  exei  .-ised 
any  supremacy  upon  that  ocean,  given  by  the.  Al- 
mighty as  the  common  arid  equal  inheritance  of  all. 
To  Henry  Clay,  as  its  chief  mover  and  author, 
belongs  the  statesman's  portion  of  the  glory  of  that 
war;  and  to  the  same  Henry  Clay,  as  one  of  the 


OF    HKNRY     CLAY.  295 

makers  and  signers  of  the  treaty  by  which  it  was  ter- 
minated, belong  the  blessings  of  the  peacemaker. 
His  crown  is  made  up  of  the  jewels  of  peace  and  of 
war. 

Prompt  to  take  up  arms  to  resent  our  wrongs  and 
vindicate  our  national  rights,  the  return  of  peace  was 
yet  gladly  hailed  by  the  whole  country.  And  well  it 
might  be.  Our  military  character,  at  the  lowest 
point  of  degradation  when  we  dared  the  fight,  had 
been  retrieved  ;  the  national  honor,  insulted  at  all 
the  courts  of  Europe,  had  been  redeemed ;  the  free- 
dom of  the  seas  secured  to  our  flag  and  all  who  sail 
under  it;  and,  what  was  most  influential  in  inspiring 
confidence  at  home  and  assuring  respect  abroad,  was 
the  demonstration,  by  the  result  of  the  late  conflict, 
of  the  competency  of  this  Government  for  effective 
war,  as  it  had  before  proved  itself  for  all  the  duties 
of  a  season  of  peace. 

The  Congress  which  succeeded  the  war,  to  a  seat 
in  which  Mr.  Clay  was  elected  while  yet  abroad,  ex- 
hibited the  features  of  a  national  jubilee,  in  place  of 
the  gravity  and  almost  gloom  which  had  settled  on. 
the  countenance  of  the  same  body  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  war  and  of  the  conferences  of  Ghent.  Joy 
shone  on  every  face.  Justly  has  that  period  been 
termed  "the  era  of  good  feeling."  Again  placed  in 
the  chair  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  all- 
important  questions  being  then  considered  as  in  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole,  in  which  the  Speaker  descends 
to  the  floor  of  the  House,  Mr.  Clay  distinguished 
himself  in  the  debates  upon  every  question  of  interest 
that  came  up,  and  was  the  author,  during  that  aud 


296  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

following  Congresses,  of  more  important  measures 
than  it  has  been  the  fortune  of  any  other  member, 
either  then  or  since,  to  have  his  name  identified  with. 

It  would  exceed  the  proper  limits  of  this  discourse 
to  particularize  all  those  measures.  I  can  do  no  more 
than  refer  to  a  very  few  of  them  which  have  become 
landmarks  in  the  history  of  our  country. 

First  in  order  of  these  was  his  origination  of  the 
first  proposition  for  a  recognition  of  the  independence 
of  the  States  of  South  America,  then  struggling  for 
liberty.  This  was  on  the  24th  of  MarctCl818.  It 
was  on  that  day  that  he  first  formally  presented  the 
proposition  to  the  House  of  Representatives.  But 
neither  the  President  nor  Congress  was  then  prepared 
for  a  measure  so  bold  and  decisive ;  and  it  was  re- 
jected by  a  large  majority  of  the  House,  though  advo- 
cated and  urged  by  him  with  all  the  vehemence  and 
power  of  his  unsurpassed  ability  and  eloquence.  Un- 
daunted by  this  defeat,  he  continued  to  pursue  the 
subject  with  all  the  inflexible  energy  of  his  character. 
On  the  3d  of  April,  1820,  he  renewed  his  proposition 
for  the  recognition  of  South  American  independence, 
and  finally  succeeded,  against  strong  opposition,  not 
only  in  passing  it  through  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, but  in  inducing  that  body  to  adopt  the  em- 
phatic and  extraordinary  course  of  sending  it  to  the 
President  by  a  committee,  specially  appointed  for  the 
purpose.  Of  that  committee  Mr.  Clay  was  the  chair- 
man, and,  at  its  head,  performed  the  duty  assigned 
them.  In  the  year  1822  Mr.  Clay's  noble  exertions 
on  this  great  subject  were  crowned  with  complete 
success,  by  the  President's  formal  recognition  of 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  297 

fev »,  th  American  independence,  with  the  sanction  of 
Cou  ^ress. 

It  requires  some  little  exertion,  at  this  day,  to 
turn  our  minds  back,  and  contemplate  the  vast  im- 
portance of  the  revolutions  then  in  progress  in  South 
America,  as  the  subject  was  then  presented,  with  all 
the  uncertainties  and  perils  that  surrounded  it.  Those 
revolutions  constituted  a  great  movement  in  the  moral 
and  political  world.  By  their  results  great  interests 
and  gteat  principles  throughout  the  civilized  world, 
and  especially  in  our  own  country,  might  and  proba- 
bly would  be  materially  affected. 

Mr.  Clay  comprehended  the  crisis.  Its  magnitude 
and  iU  character  were  suited  to  his  temper,  and  to 
his  gr^at  intellect.  He  saw  before  him,  throughout 
the  vant  continent  of  South  America,  the  people  of 
its  various  States,  or  provinces,  struggling  to  cast  off 
that  Spanish  oppression  and  tyranny  which  for  three 
hundred  years  had  weighed  them  down,  and  seeking 
to  reclaim  and  re-establish  their  long-lost  liberty  and 
independence.  He  saw  them  not  only  struggling,  but 
succeeding:  and  with  their  naked  hands  breaking 

a  9  o 

their  chains,  and  driving  their  oppressors  before  them. 
But  the  conflict  was  not  yet  over;  Spain  still  conti- 
nued to  wage  formidable  and  desperate  hostilities 
against  her  colonies,  to  reduce  them  to  submission. 
They  were  still  struggling  and  bleeding,  and  the  re- 
sult yet  depended  on  the  uncertain  issue  of  war. 

What  a  spectacle  was  there  presented  to  the  con- 
templation of  the  world  !  The  prime  object  of  atten- 
tion and  interest  there  to  be  seen  was  man  bravely 
struggling  for  liberty.  That  was  enough  for  Henry 


298  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

Clay.  His  generous  soul  overflowed  with  sympathy. 
But  this  was  not  all ;  there  were  graver  and  higher 
considerations  that  belonged  to  the  subject,  and  theso 
were  all  felt  and  appreciated  by  Mr.  Clay. 

If  South  America  was  resnbjugated  by  Spain, 
she  would,  in  effect,  become  European,  and  relapse 
into  the  system  of  European  policy  —  the  system  of 
legitimacy,  monarch}-,  and  absolutism  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  if  she  succeeded  in  establishing  her  independ- 
ence, the  principle  of  free  institutions  would  be  esta- 
blished with  it,  and  republics  kindred  to  our  own. 
would  rise  up  to  protect,  extend,  and  defend  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  mankind. 

It  was  not,  then,  a  mere  struggle  between  Spain 
and  her  colonies.  In  its  consequences,  at  least,  it 
went  much  further,  and,  in  effect,  was  a  contest  be- 
tween the  great  antagonist  principles  and  systems  of 
arbitrary  European  governments  and  of  free  Ameri- 
can governments.  Whether  the  millions  of  people 
who  inhabited  or  were  to  inhabit,  South  America, 
were  to  become  the  victims  and  the  instruments  of 
the  arbitrary  principle,  or  the  supporters  of  the  free 
principle,  was  a  question  of  momentous  consequence 
now  and  in  all  time  to  come. 

With  these  views  Mr.  Clay,  from  sympath}7  and 
policy,  embraced  the  cause  of  South  American  inde- 
pendence. He  proposed  no  actual  intervention  in 
her  behalf,  but  he  wished  to  aid  her  with  all  the 
moral  power  and  encouragement  that  could  be  given 
by  a  welcome  recognition  of  her  by  the  Government 
of  the  United  States. 

To  him  belongs  the  distinguished  honor  of  being 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  299 

first  among  the  statesmen  of  the  world  to  espouse  and 
plead  the  cause  of  South  America,  and  to  propose  and 
urge  the  recognition  of  her  independence.  And  his 
own  country  is  indebted  to  him  for  the  honor  of  being 
the  first  nation  to  offer  that  recognition. 

When  the  magnitude  of  the  subject,  and  the 
weighty  interest  and  consequences  attached  to  it,  are 
considered,  it  seems  to  me  that  there  is  no  more 
palmy  day  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Clay  than  that  in  which, 
at  the  head  of  his  committee,  he  presented  to  the  Pre- 
sident the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
in  favor  of  the  recognition  of  South  American  inde- 
pendence. On  that  occasion  he  appears  in  all  the 
sublimity  of  his  nature;  and  the  statesman,  invested 
with  all  the  sympathies  and  feelings  of  humanity,  is 
enlarged  and  elevated  into  the  character  of  the  friend 
and  guardian  of  universal  liberty. 

How  far  South  America  may  have  been  aided 
or  influenced  in  her  struggles  by  the  recognition  of 
our  Government,  or  by  the  noble  appeals  which  Mr. 
Clay  had  previously  addressed,  in  her  behalf,  to  Con- 
gress and  to  the  world,  I  cannot  say ;  but  it  is  known 
that  those  speeches  were  read  at  the  head  of  her 
armies,  and  that  grateful  thanks  were  returned.  It 
ii  not  too  much  to  suppose  that  he  exercised  great  in- 
fluence in  her  affairs  and  destinies. 

Years  after  the  first  of  Mr.  Clay's  noble  exertions 
in  the  cause  of  South  America,  and  some  time  after 
those  exertions  had  led  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  to  recognize  the  new  States  of  South  America, 
they  were  also  recognized  by  the  Government  of 
Great  Britain  ;  and  Mr.  Canning,  her  minister,  there- 


300  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

upon  took  occasion  to  say.  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons,  "there  (alluding  to  South  America),  I  have 
called  a  new  world  into  existence!"  That  was  a  vain 
boast.  If  it  can  be  said  of  any  man,  it  must  be  said 
of  Henry  Clay  that  he  called  that  "new  world  into 
existence  !  "  * 

Mr.  Clay  was  the  Father  of  the  policy  of  internal 
improvement  by  the  General  Government.  The  ex- 
pediency of  such  legislation  had  indeed  been  sug- 
gested, in  one  of  his  later  annual  messages  to  Con- 
gress, by  President  Jefferson,  and  that  suggestion 
was  revived  by  President  Madison  in  the  last  of  his 
annual  messages.  The  late  Bank  of  the  United 
States  having  been  then  just  established,  a  bill  passed 
in  supposed  conformity  to  Mr.  Madison's  recommen- 
dation, for  setting  aside  the  annual  bonus  to  be  paid 
by  the  Bank,  as  a  fund  for  the  purposes  of  internal 
improvement.  This  bill  Mr.  Madison  very  unexpect- 
edly, on  the  last  day  of  the  term  of  his  office,  returned 
to  the  House  of  Representatives  without  his  signa- 
ture, assigning  the  reasons  for  his  withholding  it — rea- 
sons which  related  rather  to  the  form  than  the  sub- 
stance—  and  recommending  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  to  confer  upon  Congress  the  necessary 
power  to  carry  out  that  policy.  This  bill,  of  course, 
fell  through  for  that  session.  While  this  bill  was  on 
its  passage,  Mr.  Clay  had  spoken  in  favor  of  it,  de- 
claring his  own  decided  opinion  in  favor  of  the  con- 
stitutionality and  expediency  of  the  measure.  Mr. 

*  See  Mr.  Rush's  letter  to  Mr.  Clay,  1st  vol.  Colton's  Life  of 
ll«nry  Clay. 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  801 

Monroe,  immediately  succeeding  Mr.  Madison  in  tho 
Presidency,  introduced  into  his  first  annual  message 
a  declaration,  in  advance  of  any  proposition  on  the 
subject,  of  a  settled  conviction  on  his  mind  that  Con- 
gress did  not  possess  the  right  to  enter  upon  a  system 
of  internal  improvement.     But  for  this  declaration, 
it  may  be  doubled  that  the  subject  would  have  been, 
again    agitated    so    soon    after   Mr.  Madison's   veto. 
The  threat  of  a  recurrence  to  that  resort  by  the  new 
President,  roused  up  a  spirit  of  defiance  in  the  popu- 
lar brunch  of  Congress,  and   especially  in  the  lion 
heart  of  Mr.  Clay;  and,  by  his  advice  and  counsel,  a 
resolution  was  introduced,  declaring  that  Congress 
has  power,  under  the   Constitution,  to  make  appro- 
priations for  the  construction  of  military  roads,  post 
roads,  and  canals.     Upon  this  proposition,  in  com- 
mittee of  the  \vhole  House,  Mr.  Clay  attacked,  with 
all  his  powers  of  argument,  wit,  and  raillerj*,  the  in- 
terdiction in  the  message.     He  considered  that  thft 
question  was  now  one  between  the  Executive,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  Representatives  of  the  people  on 
the  other,  and  that  it  was  so  understood  by  the  coun- 
try ;  that  if,  by  the  communication  of  his  opinion  to 
Congress,  the  President  intended  to  prevent  discus- 
sion, he  had  l-  most  wofully  failed;"  that  in  having 
(Mr.  Clay  had  no  doubt  with  the  best  motives)  volun- 
teered his  opinions  upon  the  subject,  he  had  "  inverted 
the  order  of  legislation,  by  beginning  where  it  should 
end;"  and,  after  an  able  and  unanswerable  argument 
on  the  question  of  the  power,  concluded  by  saying: 
"  If  we  do  nothing  this  session  but  pass  an  abstract  reso~ 
lution  on  the  subject,  I  shall,  under  all  circumstances, 
26 


502  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

consider  it  a  triumph  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
country,  of  which  posterity  will,  if  we  do  not,  reap 
the  benefit."  And  the  abstract  resolution  did  pass, 
by  a  vote  of  ninety  to  seventy-five ;  and  a  triumph  it 
•was  which  Mr.  Clay  had  every  right  to  consider  as 
his  own,  and  all  the  more  grateful  to  his  feelings,  be- 
cause he  had  hardly  hoped  for  it. 

Referring  to  the  final  success,  at  a  distance  of 
thirty-five  years,  of  the  principle  thus  established,  in 
the  recent  passage  by  Congress  of  the  act  for  the  im- 
provement of  certain  of  the  ports  and  harbors  and 
navigable  rivers  of  the  country,  let  "Posterity"  not 
forget,  on  this  occasion,  to  what  honored  name  is  un- 
doubtedly due  the  credit  of  the  first  legislative  asser- 
tion of  the  power. 

Mr.  Clay  was,  perhaps,  the  only  man  since  Wash- 
ington who  could  have  said,  with  entire  truth,  as  he 
did,  "  I  had  rather  be  right  than  be  President."  Honor 
and  patriotism  were  his  great  and  distinguishing 
traits.  The  first  had  its  spring  and  support  in  his 
fearless  spirit;  the  second,  in  his  peculiar  American- 
ism of  sentiment.  It  was  those  two  principles  which 
ever  threw  his  whole  soul  into  every  contest  where 
the  public  interest  was  deeply  involved,  and,  above 
all,  into  every  question  which  in  the  least  menaced 
the  integrity  of  the  Union.  This  last  was,  with  him, 
the  ark  of  the  covenant ;  and  he  was  ever  as  ready  to 
peril  his  own  life  in  its  defence,  as  he  was  to  pro- 
nounce the  doom  of  a  traitor  on  any  one  who  would 
dare  to  touch  it  with  hostile  hands.  It  was  the  ardor 
of  this  devotion  to  his  country,  and  to  the  sheet- 
anchor  of  its  liberty  aud  safety,  the  Union  of  the 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  80S 

States,  that  rendered  him  so  conspicuous  in  every 
conflict  that  threatened  either  the  one  or  the  other 
with  harm.     All  are  familiar  with  his  more  recent, 
indeed  his  last  great  struggle  for  his  country,  when 
the   foundation   of  the  Union   trembled   under  the 
fierce   sectional  agitation,   so  happily  adjusted  and 
pacified  by  the  wise  measures  of  compromise  which 
he  proposed  in  the  Senate,  arid  which  were,  in  the 
end,  in  substance  adopted.     That  brilliant  epoch  in 
his  history  is  fresh  in  the  memory  of  all  who  hear 
me,  and  will  never  be  forgotten  by  them.    An  equally 
glorious  success  achieved  by  his  patriotism,  his  reso- 
luteness, and  the  great  power  of  his  oratory,  was  one 
which  few  of  this  assembly  are  old  enough  vividly  to 
remember,  but  which,  in  the  memory  of  those  who 
witnessed  the  effort,  and  the  success  of  that  greatest 
triumph  of  his  master-spirit,  will  ever  live  the  most 
interesting   in   the   life   of  the   great   statesmen.     I 
mean  the  Missouri  controversy.     Then,  indeed,  did 
common  courage  quail,  and  hope  seem  to  shrink  be- 
fore the  storm  that  burst  upon  and  threatened  to 
overwhelm  the  Union. 

Into  the  history  of  what  is  still  familiarly  known 
as  the  "  Missouri  question,"  it  is  not  necessary,  if  time 
would  allow,  that  I  should  enter  at  any  length.  The 
subject  of  the  controversy,  as  all  my  hearers  know, 
was  the  disposition  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
manifested  on  more  than  one  occasion,  and  by  re- 
peated votes,  to  require,  as  a  condition  of  the  admis- 
sion of  the  Territory  of  Missouri  into  the  Union  as  a 
State,  the  perpetual  prohibition  of  the  introduction 
of  slavery  into  the  Territories  of  the  United  States 


804  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

west  of  the  Mississippi.  During  the  conflict  to  which 
this  proposition  crave  rise  in  1820,  the  debates  were 
from  the  beginning  earnest,  prolonged,  and  excited. 
In  the  earlier  stages  of  them  Mr.  Clay  exerted,  to  the 
utmost,  his  powers  of  argument,  conciliation,  and  per- 
suasion, speaking,  on  one  occasion,  it  is  stated,  for 
four  and  a  half  hours  without  intermission.  A  bill 
finally  passed  both  Houses,  authorizing  the  people 
of  the  Territory  of  Missouri  to  form  a  Constitution 
of  State  Government,  with  the  prohibition  of  slavery 
restricted  to  the  territory  lying  north  of  thirty-six  de- 
grees thirty  minutes  of  north  latitude. 

This  was  in  the  first  session  of  the  Sixteenth  Con- 
gress, Mr.  Clay  still  being  Speaker  of  the  House.  On 
the  approach  of  the  second  session  of  this  Congress, 
Mr.  Clay  being  compelled  by  his  private  affairs  to 
remain  at  home,  forwarded  his  resignation  as  Speaker, 
but  retained  his  seat  as  a  member,  in  view  of  the 
pendency  of  this  question.  Mr.  Taylor  of  New  York, 
the  zealoun  advocate  of  the  prohibition  of  slavery  in 
Missouri  and  elsewhere  in  the  "West,  was  chosen 
Speaker  to  succeed  Mr.  Clay.  This  fact,  of  itself, 
under  all  thi  circumstances,  was  ominous  of  what  waa 
to  follow.  Alarmed,  apparently,  at  this  aspect  of 
things,  Mi  Clay  resumed  his  seat  in  the  House  on 
the  16th  of  January,  1821.  The  Constitution  formed 
by  Missour.  and  transmitted  to  Congress,  under  the 
authority  of  the  act  passed  in  the  preceding  session, 
contained  n  provision  (superfluous  even  for  its  own 
object)  making  it  the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly, 
as  soon  as  might  be,  to  pass  an  act  to  prevent  free  ne- 
groes and  mulattoes  from  coming  to,  or  settling  in,  tho 


OP    HENRY    CLAT.  305 

State  of  Missouri,  'upon  any  pretext  whatever.'  The 
reception  of  the  Constitution,  with  this  offensive  pro- 
vision in  it,  was  the  signal  of  discord,  apparently  ir- 
reconcilable ;  when,  just  as  it  had  risen  to  its  height, 
Mr.  Clay,  on  the  16th  of  January,  1821,  resumed  his 
seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  Less  than  six 
weeks  of  the  term  of  Congress  then  remained.  The 
great  hold  which  he  had  upon  the  affections,  as  well 
as  the  respect,  of  all  parties,  induced  upon  his  arrival 
a  momentary  lull  in  the  tempest.  He  at  once  en- 
gaged earnestly  and  solicitously  in  counsel  with  all 
parties  in  this  alarming  controversy,  and,  on  the 
second  of  February,  moved  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee of  thirteen  members  to  consider  the  subject. 
The  report  of  that  committee,  after  four  days  of  con- 
ference, in  which  the  feelings  of  all  parties  had  clearly 
been  consulted,  notwithstanding  it  was  most  earnestly 
supported  by  Mr.  Clay  in  a  speech  of  such  power  and 
pathos  as  to  draw  tears  from  many  hearers,  was  re- 
jected by  a  vote  of  eighty-three  nays  to  eighty  yeas. 
No  one,  not  a  witness,  can  conceive  the  intense  ex- 
citement which  existed  at  this  moment  within  and 
without  the  walls  of  Congress,  aggravated  as  it  was 
by  the  arrival  of  the  day  for  counting  the  electoral 
votes  for  President  and  Vice-P resident,  among  which 
was  tendered  the  vote  of  Missouri  as  a  State,  though 

'  C1 

not  yet  admitted  as  such.  Her  vote  was  disposed  of 
by  being  counted  hypothetical!}' — that  is  to  say,  that 
with  the  vote  of  Missouri,  the  then  state  of  the  jjene- 

7  t< 

ral  vote  would  be  so  and  so ;  without  it,  so  and  so. 
If  her  vote,  admitted,  would  have  changed  the  result, 
26*  u 


806  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

no  one  can  pretend  to  say  how  disastrous  the  conse- 
quences might  not  have  been. 

On  Mr.  Clay  alone  now  rested  the  hopes  of  all 
rational  and  dispassionate  men  for  a  final  adjustment 
of  this  question  ;  and  one  week  only,  with  three  days 
of  grace,  remained  of  the  existence  of  that  Congress. 
On  the  twenty-second  of  the  month,  Mr.  Clay  made 
a  last  effort,  by  moving  the  appointment  of  a  joint 
committee  of  the  two  Houses,  to  consider  and  report 
whether  it  was  expedient  or  not  to  make  provision 
for  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union,  on  the 
same  footing  with  the  original  States;  and  if  not, 
whether  any  other  provision,  adapted  to  her  actual 
condition,  ought  to  be  made  by  law.  The  motion 
was  agreed  to,  and  a  committee  of  twenty -three  mem- 
bers appointed  by  ballot  under  it.  The  report  by  that 
committee  (a  modification  of  the  previously  rejected 
report)  was  ratified  by  the  House,  but  by  the  close 
vote,  eighty-seven  to  eighty-one.  The  Senate  con- 
curred, and  so  this  distracting  question  was  at  last 
Bottled,  with  an  acquiescence  in  it  by  all  parties, 
which  has  never  been  since  disturbed. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  this  as  the  great  triumph 
of  Mr.  Clay ;  I  might  have  said,  the  greatest  civil  tri- 
umph ever  achieved  by  mortal  man.  It  was  one 
toward  which  the  combination  of  the  highest  ability, 
and  the  most  commanding  eloquence,  would  have 
labored  in  vain.  There  would  still  have  been  want- 
ing the  ardor,  the  vehemence,  the  impetuousness  of 
character  of  Henry  Clay,  under  the  influence  of  which 
he  sometimes  overleaped  all  barriers,  and  carried  hia 
point  literally  by  storm.  Oue  incident  of  this  kind 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  307 

is  well  remembered  in  connection  with  the  Missouri 
question.  It  was  in  an  evening  sitting,  while  this 
question  was  yet  in  suspense,  Mr.  Clay  had  made  a 
motion  to  allow  one  or  two  members  to  vote  who  had 
been  absent  when  their  names  were  called.  The 
Speaker  (Mr.  Taylor),  who,  to  a  naturally  equable 
temperament,  added  a  most  provoking  calmness  of 
manner  when  all  around  him  was  excitement,  blandly 
stated,  for  the  information  of  the  gentleman,  that  the 
motion  "  was  not  in  order."  Mr.  Clay  then  moved  to 
suspend  the  rule  forbidding  it,  so  as  to  allow  him  to 
make  the  motion  ;  but  the  Speaker,  with  impertur- 
bable serenity,  informed  him  that,  according  to  the 
Rules  and  Orders,  such  a  motion  could  not  be  received 
without  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  House.  "  Then" 
said  Mr.  Clay,  exerting  his  voice  even  beyond  it3 
highest  wont,  1/>I  move  to  suspend  ALL  the  rules  of  the 
House.  Away  with  them!  Is  it  to  be  endured  that 
we  shall  be  trammeled  in  our  action  b}7  mere  forms 
and  technicalities  in  a  moment  like  this,  when  the 
peace,  and  perhaps  the  existence,  of  this  UNION  is  at 
stake?" 

Besides  those  to  which  I  have  alluded,  Mr.  Clay 
performed  many  other  signal  public  services,  any  one 
of  which  would  have  illustrated  the  character  of  any 
other  American  statesman.  Among  these  we  cannot 
refrain  from  mentioning  his  measures  for  the  protec- 
tion of  American  industry,  and  his  Compromise 
Measures  of  1833,  by  which  the  country  was  relieved 
from  the  dangers  and  agitations  produced  by  the  doc- 
trine and  spirit  of  'nullification.'  Indeed,  his  nuiue 


308  THELIFE    AND    TIMES 

is  identified  with  all  the  great  measures  of  Goven* 
ment  during  the  long  period  of  his  public  life. 

But  the  occasion  does  not  permit  me  to  proceed 
further  with  the  review  of  his  public  services.  His- 
tory will  record  them  to  his  honor. 

Henry  Clay  was  indebted  to  no  adventitious  cir- 
cumstances for  the  success  and  glory  of  his  life. 
Sprung  from  an  humble  stock,  he  "was  fashioned  to 
much  honor  from  his  cradle ;"  and  he  achieved  it  by 
the  noble  use  of  the  means  which  God  and  nature 
had  given  him.  He  was  no  scholar,  and  had  none  of 
the  advantages  of  collegiate  education.  But  there 
was  a  "divinity  that  stirred  within  him."  He  was  a 
man  of  genius  mighty  enough  to  supply  all  the  de- 
fects of  education.  By  its  keen,  penetrating  obser- 
vation, its  quick  apprehension,  its  comprehensive  and 
clear  conception,  he  gathered  knowledge  without  the 
study  of  books;  he  could  draw  it  from  the  fountain- 
head,  pure  and  undefiled.  It  was  unborrowed  —  the 
acquisition  of  his  own  observation,  reflection,  and  ex- 
perience, and  all  his  own.  It  entered  into  the  com- 
position of  the  man,  forming  part  of  his  mind,  and 
strengthening  and  preparing  him  for  all  those  great 
scenes  of  intellectual  exertion  or  controversy  in  which 
his  life  was  spent.  His  armor  was  always  on,  and  he 
was  ever  ready  for  the  battle. 

This  mighty  genius  was  accompanied,  in  him,  by 
all  the  qualities  necessary  to  sustain  its  action,  and  to 
make  it  irresistible.  His  person  was  tall,  and  com- 
manding, and  his  demeanor 

"  Lofty  and  sour  to  them  that  loved  him  not ; 
But  to  thu.se  men  that  sought  him,  sweet  as  summer." 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  809 

He  was  direct  and  honest,  ardent  and  fearless, 
prompt  to  form  his  opinions,  always  bold  in  their 
avowal,  and  sometimes  impetuous,  or  even  rash,  in 
their  vindication.  In  the  performance  of  his  duties 
he  feared  no  responsibility.  He  scorned  all  evasion 
or  untruth.  No  pale  thoughts  ever  troubled  his  deci- 
sive mind.  "Be  just  and  fear  not,"  was  the  sentiment 
of  his  heart  and  the  principle  of  his  action.  It  regu- 
lated his  conduct  in  private  and  public  life ;  all  the 
ends  he  aimed  at  were  his  country's,  his  God's,  and 
truth's. 

Such  was  Henry  Clay,  and  such  were  his  talents, 
qualities,  and  objects.  Nothing  but  success  and  honor 
could  attend  such  a  character.  I  have  adverted  briefly 
to  some  portions  of  his  public  life.  For  nearly  half 
a  century  he  was  an  informing  spirit,  a  brilliant  and 
heroic  figure  in  our  political  sphere,  marshalling  our 
country  in  the  way  she  ought  to  go.  The  "  bright 
track  of  his  fiery  car"  may  be  traced  through  the 
whole  space  over  which,  in  his  day,  his  country  and 
its  Government  have  passed  in  the  way  to  greatness 
and  renown.  It  will  still  point  the  way  to  further 
greatness  and  renown. 

The  great  objects  of  his  public  life  were  to  pre- 
serve and  strengthen  the  Union ;  to  maintain  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States ;  to  che- 
rish industry;  to  protect  labor;  and  facilitate,  by  all 
proper  national  improvements,  the  communication 
between  all  parts  of  our  widely-extended  country. 
This  was  his  American  system  of  policy.  With  in- 
flexible patriotism  he  pursued  and  advocated  it  to 
hia  end.  He  was  every  inch  an  American.  His 


310  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

heart,  and  all  that  there  was  of  him,  were  devoted  to 
his  country,  to  its  liberty,  and  its  free  institutions. 
He  inherited  the  spirit  of  the  Revolution,  in  the 
midst  of  which  he  was  born ;  and  the  love  of  liberty, 
and  the  pride  of  freedom,  were  in  him  principles  of 
action. 

A  remarkable  trait  in  his  character  was  his  in- 
flexibility in  defending  the  public  interest  against  all 
Bchemes  for  its  detriment.  His  exertions  were,  in- 
deed, so  steadily  employed  and  so  often  successful  in 
protecting  the  public  against  the  injurious  designs  of 
visionary  politicians  or  party  demagogues,  that  he 
may  be  almost  said  to  have  been,  during  forty  years, 
the  guardian  angel  of  the  country.  He  never  would 
compromise  the  public  interest  for  any  body,  or  for 
any  personal  advantage  to  himself. 

He  was  the  advocate  of  liberty  throughout  the 
world,  and  his  voice  of  cheering  was  raised  in  behalf 
of  every  people  who  struggled  for  freedom.  Greece, 
awakened  from  a  long  sleep  of  servitude,  heard  his 
voice,  and  was  reminded  of  her  own  Demosthenes. 
South  America,  too,  in  her  struggle  for  independ- 
ence, heard  his  brave  words  of  encouragement,  and 
her  fainting  heart  was  animated,  and  her  arm  made 
strong. 

Henry  Clay  was  the  fair  representative  of  the  age 
in  which  he  lived ;  an  age  which  forms  the  great  and 
brightest  era  in  the  history  of  man  ;  an  age  teeming 
with  new  discoveries  and  developments,  extending 
in  all  directions  the  limits  of  human  knowledge,  ex- 
ploring the  agencies  and  elements  of  the  physical 
world,  and  turning  and  subjugating  them  to  the  use 


OF    HENRY    CLAY.  811 

of  man ;  unfolding  and  establishing  practically  the 
great  principles  of  popular  rights  and  free  govern- 
ments, and  which,  nothing  doubting,  nothing  fear- 
ing, still  advances  in  majesty,  aspiring  to  and  de- 
manding further  improvement  and  further  ameliora- 
tion of  the  condition  of  mankind. 

With  the  chivalrous  and  benignant  spirit  of  this 
great  era  Henry  Clay  was  thoroughly  imbued.  He 
was,  indeed,  moulded  by  it,  and  made  in  its  own 
image.  That  spirit,  be  it  remembered,  was  not  one 
of  licentiousness,  or  turbulence,  or  blind  innovation. 
It  was  a  wise  spirit,  good  and  honest  as  it  was  reso- 
lute and  brave;  and  truth  and  justice  were  its  com- 
panions and  guides. 

These  noble  qualities  of  truth  and  justice  were 
conspicuous  in  the  whole  public  life  of  Mr.  Clay. 
On  that  solid  foundation  he  stood,  erect  and  fearless; 
and  when  the  storms  of  State  beat  around  and 
threatened  to  overwhelm  him,  his  exclamation  was 
still  heard,  "truth  is  mighty,  and  public  justice  cer- 
tain." What  a  magnificent  and  heroic  figure  does 
Henry  Clay  here  present  to  the  world !  We  can 
bn.t  stand  before  and  look  upon  it  in  silent  reverence. 
His  appeal  was  not  in  vain ;  the  passion  of  party 
subsided;  truth  and  justice  resumed  their  sway,  and 
his  generous  countrymen  repaid  him,  for  all  the 
wrong  they  had  done,  with  gratitude,  affection,  and 
admiration  in  his  life,  and  with  tears  for  his  death. 

It  has  been  objected  to  Henry  Clay  that  he  waa 
ambitious.  So  he  was.  But  in  him  ambition  was  a 
virtue.  It  sought  only  the  proper,  fair  objects  of 
honorable  ambition,  and  it  sought  these  by  honorable 


812  THE    LIFE    AND    TIMES 

means  only  — by  so  serving  the  country  as  to  deserve 
its  favors  and  its  honors.  If  he  sought  office,  it  was 
for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him,  by  the  power  it 
would  give,  to  serve  his  country  more  effectually  and 
pre-eminently  ;  and,  if  he  expected  and  desired  there- 
by to  advance  his  own  fame,  who  will  say  that  was  a 
fault?  "Who  will  say  that  it  was  a  fault  to  seek  and 
to  desire  office  for  any  of  the  personal  gratifications 
it  may  afford,  so  long  as  those  gratifications  are  made 
subordinate  to  the  public  good  ? 

That  Henry  Clay's  object  in  desiring  office  was 
to  serve  his  country,  and  that  he  would  have  made 
all  other  considerations  subservient,  I  have  no  doubt. 
I  knew  him  well ;  I  had  full  opportunity  of  observ- 
ing him  in  his  most  unguarded  moments  and  conver- 
sations, and  I  can  say  that  I  have  never  known  a 
more  unselfish,  a  more  faithful  or  intrepid  represen- 
tative of  the  people,  of  the  people's  rights,  and  the 
people's  interests,  than  Henry  Clay.  It  was  most 
fortunate  for  Kentucky  to  have  such  a  representative, 
and  most  fortunate  for  him  to  have  such  a  constituent 
as  Kentucky — fortunate  for  him  to  have  been  thrown, 
in  the  early  and  susceptible  period  of  his  life,  into 
the  primitive  society  of  her  bold  and  free  people. 
As  one  of  her  children,  I  am  pleased  to  think  that 
from  that  source  he  derived  some  of  the  magnani- 
mity and  energy  which  his  after-life  so  signally  dis- 
played. I  am  pleased  to  think  that,  mingling  with 
all  his  great  qualities,  there  was  a  sort  of  Kentucky- 
ism  (I  shall  not  undertake  to  define  it),  which,  though 
it  may  not  have  polished  or  refined,  gave  to  them  ad- 
ditional  point  and  power,  and  a  freer  scope  of  action. 


OF    HENRY    CLAT.  813 

Mr.  Clay  was  a  man  of  profound  judgment  and 
strong  will.  He  never  doubted  or  faltered ;  all  his 
qualities  were  positive  and  peremptory ;  and  to  his 
convictions  of  public  duty  he  sacrificed  every  per 
sonal  consideration. 

"With  but  little  knowledge  of  the  rules  of  logic  or 
of  rhetoric,  he  was  a  great  debater  and  orator.  There 
was  no  art  in  his  eloquence,  no  studied  contrivances 
of  language.  It  was  the  natural  outpouring  of  a 
great  and  ardent  intellect.  In  his  speeches  there 
were  none  of  the  trifles  of  mere  fancy  and  imagina- 
tion ;  all  was  to  the  subject  in  hand,  and  to  the  pur- 
pose;  and  they  may  be  regarded  as  great  actions  of 
the  mind  rather  than  fine  displays  of  words.  I  doubt 
whether  the  eloquence  of  Demosthenes  or  Cicero  ever 
exercised  a  greater  influence  over  the  minds  and  pas- 
sions of  the  people  of  Athens  and  of  Rome,  than  did 
Mr.  Clay's  over  the  minds  and  passions  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States. 

You  all  knew  Mr.  Clay ;  your  knowledge  and 
recollection  of  him  will  present  him  more  vividly  to 
your  minds  than  any  picture  I  can  draw  of  him.  This 
I  will  add:  he  was,  in  the  highest,  truest  sense  of  the 
term,  a  great  man,  and  we  ne'er  shall  look  upon  his 
like  again.  He  has  gone  to  join  the  mighty  dead  in. 
another  and  better  world.  How  little  is  there  of  such 
a  man  that  can  die !  His  fame,  the  memory  of  his 
benefactions,  the  lessons  of  his  wisdom,  all  remain 
with  us ;  over  these  death  has  no  power. 

How  few  of  the  great  of  this  world  have  been  so 
fortunate  as  he  !     How  few  of  them  have  lived  to  see 
their  labors  so  rewarded!   He  lived  to  see  the  country 
27 


814  THE    LIFE    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

that  he  loved  and  served  advanced  to  great  prosperity 
and  renown,  and  still  advancing.  He  lived  till  every 
prejudice  which,  at  any  period  of  his  life,  had  existed 
against  him,  was  removed;  and  until  he  had  become 
the  object  of  the  reverence,  gratitude,  and  love  of  his 
whole  country.  His  work  seemed  then  to  be  com- 
pleted, and  fate  could  not  have  selected  a  happier 
moment  to  remove  him  from  the  troubles  and  vicis- 
situdes of  his  life. 

Glorious  as  his  life  was,  there  was  nothing  that 
became  him  like  the  leaving  of  it.  I  saw  him  fre- 
quently during  the  slow  and  lingering  disease  which 
terminated  his  life.  He  was  conscious  of  his  ap- 
proaching end,  and  prepared  to  meet  it  with  all  the 
resignation  and  fortitude  of  a  Christian  hero.  He 
was  all  patience,  meekness,  and  gentleness ;  these 
shone  around  him  like  a  mild,  celestial  light,  break- 
ing upon  him  from  another  world. 

"And,  to  add  greater  honors  to  his  age 
Thau  man  could  give,  he  died  fearing  God." 


APPENDIX. 

SELECT  SPEECHES  OF  HENRY  CLAY. 


I. 

OX  THE  GREEK  REVOLUTION. 

Delivered  in  the  House  of  Repretentativet,  Jan.  20,  1824. 

IN  rising,  let  me  state  distinctly  the  substance  of 
the  original  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Mas- 
sachusetts (Mr.  Webster),  with  that  of  the  amend- 
ment of  the  gentleman  from  South  Carolina  (Mr. 
Poinsett).  The  resolution  proposes  a  provision  of  the 
mealis  to  defray  the  expense  of  deputing  a  commis- 
sioner or  agent  to  Greece,  whenever  the  President, 
who  knows,  or  ought  to  know,  the  disposition  of  all 
the  European  powers,  Turkish  or  Christian,  shall 
deem  it  proper.  The  amendment  goes  to  withhold 
any  appropriation  to  that  object,  but  to  make  a  public 
declaration  of  our  sympathy  with  the  Greeks,  and  of 
our  good  wishes  for  the  success  of  their  cause.  And 
ho\v  has  this  simple,  unpretending,  unambitious,  this 
harmless  proposition,  been  treated  in  debate  ?  It 
has  been  argued  as  if  it  offered  aid  to  the  Greeks ;  as 
if  it  proposed  the  recognition  of  the  independence  of 

(315) 


816  SPEECHES    OP    HENRY    CLAY. 

tlieir  government;  as  a  measure  of  unjustifiable  in- 
terference in  the  internal  affairs  of  a  foreign  State, 
nnd  finally,  as  Avar.  And  they  who  thus  argue  the 
question,  while  they  absolutely  surrender  themselves 
to  the  illusions  of  their  own  fervid  imaginations,  and 
depict,  in  glowing  terms,  the  monstrous  and  alarm- 
ing consequences  which  are  to  spring  out  of  a  propo- 
fiition  so  simple,  impute  to  us,  who  are  its  humblest 
advocates,  Quixotism  !  Quixotism !  While  they  are 
taking  the  most  extravagant  and  boundless  range,  and 
arguing  anything  and  everything  but  the  question 
before  the  Committee,  they  accuse  us  of  enthusiasm, 
of  giving  the  reins  to  excited  feeling,  of  being  trans- 
ported by  our  imaginations.  No,  sir,  the  resolution 
is  no  proposition  for  aid,  nor  for  recognition,  nor  for 
interference,  nor  for  war. 

I  know  that  there  are  some  who  object  to  the  reso- 
lution on  account  of  the  source  from  which  it  has 
sprung  —  who  except  to  its  mover,  as  if  its  value  or 
importance  were  to  be  estimated  by  personal  conside- 
rations. I  have  long  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing 
the  honorable  gentleman  from  Massachusetts,  and 
sometimes  that  of  acting  with  him  ;  and  I  have  much 
satisfaction  in  expressing  my  high  admiration  of  hia 
great  talents.  But  I  would  appeal  to  my  republican 
friends,  those  faithful  sentinels  of  civil  liberty  with 
whom  I  have  overacted,  shall  we  reject  a  proposition, 
consonant  to  our  principles,  favoring  the  good  and 
great  cause,  on  account  of  the  political  character  of 
its  mover?  Shall  we  not  rather  look  to  the  intrinsic 
merits  of  the  measure,  and  seek  every  fit  occasion  to 
strengthen  and  perpetuate  liberal  principles  and  noble 


ON    THE    GREEK    REVOLUTION.  317 

sentiments?  If  it  were  possible  for  republicans  to 
cease  to  be  the  champions  of  human  freedom,  and  if 
federalists  became  its  only  supporters,  I  would  cease 
to  be  a  republican  ;  I  would  become  a  federalist.  The 
preservation  of  the  public  confidence  can  only  be 
secured,  or  merited,  by  a  faithful  adherence  to  the 
principles  by  which  it  has  been  acquired. 

Mr.  Chairman,  is  it  not  extraordinary  that  for  these 
two  successive  years  the  President  of  the  United  States 
should  have  been  freely  indulged,  not  only  without 
censure,  but  with  universal  applause,  to  express  the 
feelings  which  both  the  resolution  and  the  amend- 
ment proclaim,  and  yet,  if  this  House  venture  to 
unite  with  him,  the  most  awful  consequences  are  to 
ensue?  From  Maine  to  Georgia,  from  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  sentiment  of  appro- 
bation has  blazed  with  the  rapidity  of  electricity. 
Everywhere  the  interest  in  the  Greek  cause  is  felt 
with  the  deepest  intensity,  expressed  in  every  form, 
and  increases  with  every  new  day  and  passing  hour. 
And  are  the  representatives  of  the  people  alone  to  be 
insulated  from  the  common  moral  atmosphere  of  the 
whole  land?  Shall  we  shut  ourselves  up  in  apathy, 
and  separate  ourselves  from  our  country,  from  our 
constituents,  from  our  chief  magistrate,  from  our 
principles  ? 

This  measure  has  been  most  unreasonably  magni- 
fied. Gentlemen  speak  of  the  watchful  jealousy  of 
the  Turk,  and  seem  to  think  the  slightest  movement 
of  this  body  will  be  matter  of  serious  speculation  at 
Constantinople.  I  believe  that  neither  the  Sublime 
Porte,  nor  the  European  allies,  attach  any  such  »*• 
27* 


318  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

aggerated  importance  to  the  acts  and  deliberations 
of  this  body.  The  Turk  will,  in  all  probability,  never 
hear  the  names  of  the  gentlemen  who  either  espouse 
or  oppose  the  resolution.  It  certainly  is  not  without 
a  value  ;  but  that  value  is  altogether  moral ;  it  throws 
our  little  tribute  into  the  vast  stream  of  public  opi- 
nion, which,  sooner  or  later,  must  regulate  physical 
action  upon  the  great  interests  of  the  civilized  world. 
But,  rely  upon  it,  the  Ottoman  is  not  about  to  declare 
war  against  us  because  this  unoffending  proposition 
has  been  offered  by  rny  honorable  friend  from  Massa- 
chusetts, whose  name,  however  distinguished  and 
eminent  he  may  be  in  our  own  country,  has  probably 
never  reached  the  ears  of  the  Sublime  Porte.  The 
allied  powers  are  not  going  to  be  thrown  into  a  state 
of  consternation,  because  we  appropriate  some  two 
or  three  thousand  dollars  to  send  an  agent  to  Greece. 
The  question  has  been  argued  as  if  the  Greeks 
would  be  exposed  to  still  more  shocking' enormities 
by  its  passage;  as  if  the  Turkish  cimeter  would  be 
rendered  still  keener,  and  dyed  deeper  and  yet  deeper 
in  Christian  blood.  Sir,  if  such  is  to  be  the  effect  of 
the  declaration  of  our  sympathy,  the  evil  has  been 
already  produced.  That  declaration  has  been  already 
publicly  and  solemnly  made  by  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  United  States,  in  two  distinct  messages.  It  is 
this  document  which  commands  at  home  and  abroad 
the  most  tixed  and  universal  attention ;  which  IP. 
translated  into  all  the  foreign  journals;  rend  by  sove- 
reigns and  their  ministers;  and,  possibly,  in  the  divan 
itself.  But  our  resolutions  are  domestic,  for  homo 
consumption,  and  rarely,  if  ever,  meet  imperial  or 


ON    THE    GREEK    REVOLUTION.  31t> 

royal  eyes.  The  President,  in  his  messages,  after  a 
most  touching  representation  of  the  feelings  excited 
by  the  Greek  insurrection,  tells  you  that  the  dominion 
of  the  Turk  is  gone  forever;  and  that  the  most  san- 
guine hope  is  entertained  that  Greece  will  achieve 
her  independence.  Well,  sir,  if  this  be  the  fact,  if 
the  Allied  Powers  themselves  may,  possibly,  before 
we  again  assemble  in  this  hall,  acknowledge  that  in- 
dependence, is  it  not  fit  and  becoming  in  this  House 
to  make  provision  that  our  President  shall  be  among 
the  foremost,  or  at  least  not  among  the  last,  in  that 
acknowledgment?  So  far  from  this  resolution  being 
likely  to  whet  the  vengeance  of  the  Turk  against  his 
Grecian  victims,  I  believe  its  tendency  will  be  directly 
the  reverse.  Sir,  with  all  his  unlimited  power,  and 
in  all  the  elevation  of  his  despotic  throne,  he  is  at  last 
but  man,  made  as  we  are,  of  flesh,  of  muscle,  of  bone 
and  sinew.  He  is  susceptible  of  pain,  and  can  feel, 
and  has  felt,  the  uncalculating  valor  of  American 
freemen  in  some  of  his  dominions.  And  when  he  is 
made  to  understand  that  the  Executive  of  this  Gov- 
ernment is  sustained  by  the  representatives  of  the 
people;  that  our  entire  political  fabric,  base,  column, 
and  entablature,  rulers  and  people,  with  heart,  soul, 
mind,  and  strength,  are  all  on  the  side  of  the  gallant 
people  whom  he  would  crush,  he  will  be  more  likely 
to  restrain  than  to  increase  his  atrocities  upon  suffer- 
ing, bleeding  Greece. 

The  gentleman  from  New  Hampshire  (Mr.  Bartlett) 
has  made,  on  this  occasion,  a  very  ingenious,  sensible, 
and  ironical  speech  —  an  admirable  debut  for  a  new 
member,  arid  such  as  I  hope  we  shall  often  have  re- 


620  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

peated  on  tl/.j  floor.  But,  permit  me  to  advise  my 
young  friend  to  remember  the  maxim  that  "sufficient 
unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof;"  and  when  the  rcso 
lution*  on  another  subject,  which  I  had  the  honor  to 
submit,  shall  come  up  to  be  discussed,  I  hope  he  will 
not  content  himself  with  saying,  as  he  has  now  done, 
that  it  is  a  very  extraordinary  one;  but  that  he  will 
then  favor  the  House  with  an  argumentative  speech, 
proving  that  it  is  our  duty  quietly  to  see  laid  prostrate 
every  fortress  of  human  hope,  and  to  behold  with  in- 
difference the  last  outwork  of  liberty  taken  and  de- 
stroyed. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  proposed  measure  will  be 
a  departure  from  our  uniform  policy  with  respect  to 
foreign  nations;  that  it  will  provoke  the  wrath  of  the 
Holy  Alliance;  and  that  it  will,  in  effect,  be  a  repe- 
tition of  their  own  offence,  by  an  unjustifiable  inter- 
position in  the  domestic  concerns  of  other  powers. 
No,  sir,  not  even  if  it  authorized,  which  it  does  no*, 
an  immediate  recognition  of  Grecian  independence. 
What  has  been  the  settled  and  steady  policy  and 
practice  of  this  Government,  from  the  days  of  Wash- 
ington to  the  present  moment?  In  the  case  of  France, 
the  Father  of  his  country  and  his  successors  received 
Genet,  Fouchet,  and  all  the  French  ministers  who 
followed  them,  whether  sent  from  king,  convention, 
anarchy,  emperor,  or  king  a£ain.  The  rule  we  have 
ever  followed  has  been  this:  to  look  at  the  state  of 
the  fact,  and  to  recognize  that  government,  be  it  what 

*  The  resolution,  offered  by  Mr.  Clay,  declaring  that  the  United 
States  would  not  see  with  indifference  any  interference  of  the  Holy 
Alliance  iu  behalf  of  Spain  against  the  new  American  republics. 


ON    THE    GREEK    REVOLUTION.  321 

it  might,  which  was  in  actual  possession  of  sovereign 
power.  'When  one  government  is  overthrown,  and 
another  is  established  on  its  ruins,  without  embarras- 
sing ourselves  with  any  of  the  principles  involved  in 
the  contest,  we  have  ever  acknowledged  the  new  and 
actual  government  as  soon  as  it  had  undisputed  exist- 
ence. Our  simple  inquiry  has  been,  "Is  there  a 
government  de  facto?'1  We  have  had  a  recent  and 
memorable  example.  "When  the  allied  ministers  re- 
tired from  Madrid,  and  refused  to  accompany  Ferdi- 
nand to  Cadiz,  ours  remained,  and  we  sent  out  a  new 
minister  who  sought  at  that  port  to  present  himself 
to  the  constitutional  king.  Why  ?  Because  it  was 
the  government  of  Spain  in  fact.  Did  the  Allies  de- 
clare war  against  us  for  the  exercise  of  this  incontest- 
able attribute  of  sovereignty  ?  Did  they  even  trans- 
mit any  diplomatic  note,  complaining  of  our  conduct? 
The  line  of  our  European  policy  has  been  so  plainly 
described,  that  it  is  impossible  to  mistake  it.  We  are 
to  abstain  from  all  interference  in  their  disputes,  to 
take  no  part  in  their  contests,  to  make  no  entangling 
alliances  with  any  of  them ;  but  to  assert  and  exercise 
our  indisputable  right  of  opening  and  maintaining 
diplomatic  intercourse  with  any  actual  sovereignty. 

Surely,  sir,  we  need  no  long  or  learned  lectures 
about  the  nature  of  government,  and  the  influence  of 
property  or  ranks  on  society.  We  may  content  our- 
selves with  studying  the  true  character  of  our  own 
people,  and  with  knowing  that  the  interests  are  con- 
fided to  us  of  a  nation  capable  of  doing  and  suffering 
all  things  for  its  liberty.  Such  a  nation,  if  its  rulers 
be  faithful,  must  be  invincible.  I  well  remember  an 

v 


322  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

observation  made  to  me  by  the  most  illustrious  fe- 
male* of  the  age,  if  not  of  her  sex.  All  history 
showed,  she  said,  that  a  nation  was  never  conquered. 
No,  sir,  no  united  nation,  that  resolves  to  be  free, 
can  be  conquered.  And  has  it  come  to  this?  Are 
we  so  humbled,  so  low,  so  debased,  that  we  dare  not 
express  our  sympathy  for  suffering  Greece,  that  we 
daro  not  articulate  our  detestation  of  the  brutal  ex- 
cesses of  which  she  has  been  the  bleeding  victim,  lest 
we  might  offend  some  one  or  more  of  their  imperial 
and  royal  majesties?  If  gentlemen  are  afraid  to  act 
rashly  on  such  a  subject,  suppose,  Mr.  Chairman,  that 
we  unite  in  an  humble  petition,  addressed  to  their 
majesties,  beseeching  them  that,  of  their  gracious 
condescenscion,  they  would  allow  us  to  express  our 
feelings  and  our  sympathies?  How  shall  it  run? 
"  We,  the  representatives  of  the  free  people  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  humbly  approach  the 
thrones  of  your  imperial  and  royal  majesties,  and 
supplicate  that,  of  your  imperial  and  royal  clemency" 
—  I  cannot  go  through  the  disgusting  recital  —  my 
lips  have  not  yet  learned  to  pronounce  the  sycophan- 
tic language  of  a  degraded  slave  !  Are  we  so  mean, 
BO  base,  so  despicable,  that  we  may  not  attempt  to 
express  our  horror,  utter  our  indignation,  at.  the  most 
brutal  and  atrocious  war  that  ever  stained  earth  or 
shocked  high  Heaven  ;  at  the  ferocious  deeds  of  a 
savnge  and  infuriated  soldiery,  stimulated  and  urged 
on  by  the  clergy  of  a  fanatical  and  inimical  religion, 
nnd  rioting  in  all  the  excesses  of  blood  and  butchery, 

*  Madam*  de  Stuel. 


ON    THE    GREEK    REVOLUTION. 

at  the  mere  details  of  which  the  heart  sickens  and 
recoils. 

If  the  great  body  of  Christendom  can  look  on 
calmly  and  coolly,  while  all  this  is  perpetrated  on  a 
Christian  people,  in  its  own  immediate  vicinity,  in  itu 
very  presence,  let  us  at  least  evince  that  one  of  its  re- 
mote extremities  is  susceptible  of  sensibility  to  Chris- 
tian wrongs,  and  capable  of  sympathy  for  Christian 
Bufferings ;  that  in  this  remote  quarter  of  the  world 
there  are  hearts  not  yet  closed  against  compassion  for 
human  woes,  that  can  pour  out  their  indignant  feel- 
ings at  the  oppression  of  a  people  endeared  to  us  by 
every  ancient  recollection  and  every  modern  tie. 
Sir,  the  committee  has  been  attempted  to  be  alarmed 
by  the  dangers  to  our  commerce  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean ;  and  a  wretched  invoice  of  figs  and  opium  has 
been  spread  before  us  to  repress  our  sensibilities, 
and  to  eradicate  our  humanity.  Ah,  sir,  "  What 
shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and 
lose  his  own  soul?"  or  what  shall  it  avail  a  nation 
to  save  the  whole  of  a  miserable  trade,  and  lose  its 
liberties  ? 

On  the  subject  of  the  other  independent  American 
States,  hitherto  it  has  not  been  necessary  to  depart 
from  the  rule  of  our  foreign  relations  observed  in  re- 
gard to  Europe.  Whether  it  will  become  us  to  do 
so  or  not,  will  be  considered  when  we  take  up  an- 
other resolution,  lying  on  the  table.  But  we  may 
not  only  adopt  this  measure,  we  may  go  further:  we 
may  recognize  the  government  in  the  Morea,  if  ac- 
tually independent,  and  it  will  be  neither  war  noi 
came  of  war,  nor  any  violation  of  our  neutrality 


824  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

Besides,  sir,  what  is  Greece  to  the  Allies?  a  part  of 
the  dominions  of  an}"  of  them  ?  By  no  means.  Sup- 
pose the  people  in  one  of  the  Philippine  Isles,  or  any 
other  spot  still  more  insulated  and  remote,  in  Asia 
or  Africa,  were  to  resist  their  former  rulers,  and  set 
up  and  establish  a  new  government,  are  we  not  to 
recognize  them  in  dread  of  the  Holy  Allies?  If  they 
are  going  to  interfere,  from  the  danger  of  the  conta- 
gion of  the  example,  here  is  the  spot,  our  own  favored 
land,  where  they  must  strike.  This  Government  — 
you,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  the  body  over  which  you 
preside,  are  the  living  and  cutting  reproach  to  allied 
despotism.  If  we  are  to  offend  them,  it  is  not  by 
passing  this  resolution.  We  are  daily  and  hourly 
giving  them  cause  of  war.  It  is  here,  and  in  our  free 
institutions,  that  they  will  assail  us.  They  will  at- 
tack us  because  you  sit  beneath  that  canopy,  and  we 
are  freely  debating  and  deliberating  upon  the  great 
interests  of  freemen,  and  dispensing  the  blessings 
of  free  government.  They  will  strike  because  we 
pass  one  of  those  bills  on  your  table.  The  passage 
of  the  least  of  them,  by  our  free  authority,  is  more 
galling  to  despotic  powers  than  would  be  the  adop- 
tion of  this  so-much  dreaded  resolution.  Pass  it,  and 
what  do  you  do?  You  exercise  an  indisputable 
attribute  of  sovereignty,  for  which  you  are  responsi- 
ble to  none  of  them.  You  do  the  same  when  you 
perform  an\r  other  legislative  function ;  no  less.  If 
the  Allies  object  to  this  measure,  let  them  forbid  us 
to  take  a  vote  in  this  House ;  let  them  strip  us  of 
every  attribute  of  independent  government;  let  them 
disperse  us. 


ON    THE    GREEK    BE  VOLUTION.  325 

Will  gentlemen  attempt  to  maintain  that,  on  the 
{,/nciples  of  the  law  of  nations,  those  Allies  would 
have  cause  of  war?  If  there  be  any  principle  which 
has  been  settled  for  ages,  any  which  is  founded  in 
the  very  nature  of  things,  it  is  that  eve/y  independent 
State  has  the  clear  right  to  judge  of  the  fact  of  the 
existence  of  other  sovereign  powers.  I  admit  there 
may  be  a  state  of  inchoate,  initiative  sovereignty,  in 
which  a  new  government,  just  struggling  into  being, 
cannot  be  said  yet  perfectly  to  exist.  But  the  prema- 
ture recognition  of  such  new  government  can  give 
offence  justly  to  no  other  than  its  ancient  sovereign. 
The  right  of  recognition  comprehends  the  right  to  bo 
informed;  and  the  means  of  information  must,  of  ne- 
cessity, depend  upon  the  sound  discretion  of  the  party 
seeking  it.  You  may  send  out  a  commission  of  in- 
quiry, and  charge  it  with  a  provident  attention  to 
your  own  people  and  your  own  interests.  Such  will 
will  be  the  character  of  the  proposed  agency.  It  will 
not  necessarily  follow  that  any  public  functionary 
will  be  appointed  by  the  President.  You  merely 
grant  the  means  by  which  the  Executive  may  act 
when  he  thinks  proper.  What  does  he  tell  you  in 
his  message?  That  Greece  is  contending  for  her  in- 
dependence; that  all  sympathize  with  her ;  and  that 
no  Power  has  declared  against  her.  Pass  this  reso- 
lution, and  what  is  the  reply  which  it  conveys  to 
him?  "You  have  sent  us  grateful  intelligence;  we 
feel  warmly  for  Greece,  and  we  grant  you  money, 
that,  when  you  shall  think  it  proper,  when  the  inte- 
rests of  this  nation  shall  not  be  jeoparded,  you  may 
depute  a  commissioner  or  public  agent  to  Greece." 
28 


326  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

The  ./hole  responsibility  is  then  left  where  the  Gon- 
etitut'on  puts  it.  A  member  in  his  place  may  make 
a  ^speoeh  or  proposition,  the  House  may  even  pass  a 
vote,  ia  respect  to  our  foreign  affairs,  which  the  Pre- 
sident, with  the  whole  field  lying  full  before  him, 
would  not  deem  it  expedient  to  effectuate. 

But,  sir,  it  is  not  for  Greece  alone  that  I  desire  to 
see  this  measure  adopted.  It  will  give  to  her  but 
little  support,  and  that  purely  of  a  moral  kind.  It  is 
principal!/  for  America,  for  the  credit  and  character 
of  our  common  country,  for  our  unsullied  name,  that 
I  hope  to  tiee  it  pass.  Mr.  Chairman,  what  appear- 
ance on  the  page  of  history  would  a  record  like  this 
exhibit?  "  In  the  month  of  January,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  arid  Saviour,  1824,  while  all  European 
Christendom  beheld,  with  cold  and  unfeeling  indif- 
ference, the  unexampled  wrongs  and  inexpressible 
misery  of  Christian  Greece,  a  proposition  was  made 
in  the  Congress  oi*the  United  States,  almost  the  sole, 
the  last,  the  greatest  depository  of  human  hope  and 
human  freedom,  the  representatives  of  a  gallant 
nation,  containing  a  million  of  freemen  ready  to  fly 
to  arms,  while  the  people  of  that  nation  were  spon- 
taneously expressing  its  deep-toned  feeling,  and  the 
whole  continent,  by  one  simultaneous  emotion,  was 
rising,  and  solemnly  and  anxiously  supplicating  and 
invoking  high  Heaven  to  spare  and  succor  Greece, 
and  to  invigorate  her  arms,  in  her  glorious  cause, 
while  temples  and  Senate  houses  were  alike  resound- 
ing with  one  burst  of  generous  and  hoi}*  sympathy — 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  that  Saviour  of 
Greece  and  of  ua — a  proposition  was  offered  in  the 


ON    THE    GREEK    REVOLUTION.  327 

American  Congress  to  send  a  messenger  to  Greece, 
to  inquire  into  her  state  and  condition,  with  a  kind 
expression  of  our  good  wishes  and  our  sympathies  — 
and  it  was  rejected!"  Go  home,  if  you  can,  go 
home,  if  you  dare,  to  your  constituents,  and  tell  them 
that  you  voted  it  down  —  meet,  if  you  can,  the  appal- 
ling countenances  of  those  who  sent  you  here,  and 
tell  them  that  you  shrank  from  the  declaration  of 
your  own  sentiments — that  you  cannot  tell  how,  but 
that  some  unknown  dread,  some  indescribable  appre- 
hension, some  indefinable  danger,  drove  you  from 
your  purpose  —  that  the  spectres  of  cirneters,  and 
crowns,  and  crescents,  gleamed  before  you  and  alarmed 
you ;  and  that  you  suppressed  all  the  noble  feelings 
prompted  by  Religion,  by  Liberty,  by  National  Inde- 
pendence, and  by  Humanity.  I  cannot  bring  myself 
to  believe  that  such  will  be  the  feeling  of  a  majority 
of  the  committee.  But,  for  myself,  though  every  friend 
of  the  cause  should  desert  it,  and  I  be  left  to  stand 
alone  with  the  gentleman  from.  Massachusetts,  I  will 
give  to  his  resolution  the  poor  sanction  of  my  un- 
qualified approbation. 


828  SPEECHES    OP    HENRY    CLAY. 

II. 

OUR  TREATMENT  OF  THE  CHEROKEES. 

Delivered  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  Feb.  11,  1835. 

I  HOLD  in  my  hands,  and  beg  leave  to  present  to 
the  Senate,  certain  resolutions  and  a  memorial  to  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States,  of  a  council  met  at  Running  "Waters,  consist- 
ing of  a  portion  of  the  Cherokee  Indians.  The  Che- 
rokees  have  a  country  —  if,  indeed,  it  can  be  any 
longer  called  their  country  —  which  is  comprised 
within  the  limits  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  Tennessee, 
and  South  Carolina.  They  have  a  population  which 
is  variously  estimated,  but  which,  according  to  the 
best  information  which  I  possess,  amounts  to  about 
fifteen  thousand  souls.  Of  this  population,  a  portion, 
believed  to  be  much  the  greater  part — amounting,  as 
is  estimated,  to  between  nine  and  ten  thousand  souls 
—  reside  within  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Georgia. 
The  Senate  is  well  aware,  that  for  several  years  past 
it  had  been  the  policy  of  the  General  Government  to 
transfer  the  Indians  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  and  that  a  portion  of  the  Cherokees  have  al- 
ready availed  themselves  of  this  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  emigrated  beyond  the  Mississippi.  Of 
those  who  remain,  a  portion  —  a  respectable  but  also 
an  inconsiderable  portion — are  desirous  of  emigrating 
to  the  West,  and  a  much  larger  portion  desire  f  r*- 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  CHEROKEES.   329 

main  on  their  lands,  and  lay  their  bones  where  rest 
those  of  their  ancestors.  The  papers  which  I  now 
present  emanate  from  the  minor  portion  of  the  Che- 
rokees ;  from  those  who  are  in  favor  of  emigration. 
They  present  a  case  which  appeals  strongly  to  the 
sympathies  of  Congress.  They  say  that  it  is  impos- 
sible for  them  to  continue  to  live  under  laws  which 
they  do  not  understand,  passed  by  authority  in  which 
they  have  no  share,  promulgated  in  language  of 
which  nothing  is  known  to  the  greater  portion  of 
them,  and  establishing  rules  for  their  government 
entirely  unadapted  to  their  nature,  education,  and 
habits.  They  say  that  destruction  is  hanging  over 
them  if  they  remain  ;  that,  their  right  of  self-govern- 
ment being  destroyed,  though  they  are  sensible  of  all 
the  privations,  and  hardships,  and  sufferings  of  banish- 
ment from  their  native  homes,  they  prefer  exile  with 
liberty,  to  residence  in  their  homes  with  slavery. 
They  implore,  therefore,  the  intervention  of  the  Gene- 
ral Government  to  provide  for  their  removal  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  to  establish  guarantees,  never 
hereafter  to  be  violated,  of  the  possession  of  the  lands 
to  be  acquired  by  them  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
of  the  perpetual  right  of  self-government.  This  is 
the  object  of  the  resolutions  and  petition  which  I  am 
about  to  offer  to  the  Senate. 

But  I  have  thought  that  this  occasion  was  one 
which  called  upon  me  to  express  the  opinions  and 
sentiments  which  I  hold  in  relation  to  this  entire  sub- 
ject, as  respects  not  only  the  emigrating  Indians,  but 
those  also  who  are  desirous  to  remain  at  home ;  in 
short,  to  express  in  concise  terms  my  views  of  the 
28* 


330  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY 

relations  between  the  Indian  tribes  and  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  the  rights  of  both  parties,  and  the 
duties  of  this  Government  in  regard  to  them. 

The  rights  of  the  Indians  are  to  be  ascertained,  in 
the  first  place,  by  the  solemn  stipulations  of  numerous 
treaties  made  with  them  by  the  United  States.  It  ia 
not  my  purpose  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Senate  to 
all  the  treaties  which  have  been  made  with  Indian 
tribes  bearing  on  this  particular  topic;  but  I  feel  con- 
strained to  ask  the  attention  of  the  Senate  to  some 
portions  of  those  treaties  which  have  been  made  with 
the  Cherokees,  and  to  the  memorable  treaty  of  Green- 
ville, which  has  terminated  the  war  that  previously 
thereto,  for  many  years,  raged  between  the  United 
States  and  the  northwestern  Indian  tribes.  I  find, 
upon  consulting  the  collection  of  Indian  treaties  in 
my  hand,  that  within  the  last  half-century,  fourteen 
different  treaties  have  been  concluded  with  the  Chero- 
kees, the  first  of  which  bore  date  in  the  year  1775. 
and  some  one  or  more  of  which  have  been  concluded 
under  every  administration  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment, from  the  beginning  of  it  to  the  present  time, 
except  the  present  Administration,  and  that  which 
immediately  preceded  it.  The  treaty  of  Hopewell, 
the  first  in  the  series,  was  concluded  in  1775;  in  the 
third  article  of  which  "the  said  Indians  for  them- 
selves, and  their  respective  tribes  and  towns,  do  ac- 
knowledge all  the  Cherokees  to  be  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  of  no  other 
tovereign  whatsoever"  The  fifth  article  of  the  same 
treaty  provides  that — 

"  If  any  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  other  per- 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  CHEROKEES.   331 

son,  not  being  an  Indian,  shall  attempt  to  settle  on 
any  of  the  lands  westward  or  southward  of  the  said 
boundary,  which  are  hereby  allotted  to  the  Indians 
for  their  hunting-grounds,  or,  having  already  settled, 
and  will  not  remove  from  the  same  within  six  months 
after  the  ratification,  of  this  treaty,  such  person  shall 
forfeit  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
Indians  may  punish  him  or  not,  as  they  please:  pro- 
vided, nevertheless,  that  this  article  shall  not  extend 
to  the  people  settled  between  the  fork  of  French, 
Broad,  and  Holston  rivers,"  &c. 

The  next  treaty  in  the  series,  which  was  concluded 
after  the  establishment  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Father  of 
his  Country,  was  in  the  year  1791,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ilolston,  and  contains  the  following  provision : 

"ART.  7.  The  United  States  solemnly  guarantee  to 
the  Cherokee  nation  all  their  lands  not  hereby  ceded." 

This  is  not  an  ordinary  assurance  of  protection, 
&c.,  but  a  solemn  guarantee  of  the  rights  of  the  Chero- 
kees  to  the  lands  in  question.  The  next  treaty  to 
which  I  will  call  the  attention  of  the  Senate,  was 
concluded  in  1793,  also  under  the  auspices  of  General 
Washington,  and  declares  as  follows : 

"The  undersigned,  Henry  Knox,  Secretary  for  the 
department  of  war,  being  authorized  thereto  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  in  behalf  of  the  said 
United  States,  and  the  undersigned  chiefs  and  war- 
riors, in  their  own  names,  and  in  behalf  of  the  whole 
Cherokee  nation,  are  desirous  of  re-establishing  peace 
and  friendship  between  the  said  parties  in  a  perma- 
nent manner,  do  hereby  declare  that  the  said  treaty 


832  SPEECHES    OF    HEN. -IT    CLAY. 

of  Ilolston  is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  in  full  force 
and  binding  upon  the  said  parties,  as  well  in  respect 
to  boundaries  therein  mentioned,  as  in  all  other  re- 
spects whatever." 

This  treaty,  it  is  seen,  renews  the  solemn  guarantee 
contained  in  the  preceding  treaty,  and  declares  it  to 
be  binding  and  obligatory  upon  the  parties  in  all  re- 
spects whatever. 

Again:  in  another  treat}',  concluded  in  1798,  under 
the  second  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States,  wo 
find  the  following  stipulations : 

"ART.  2.  The  treaties  subsisting  between  the  pre- 
sent contracting  parties  are  acknowledged  to  be  of 
full  and  operating  force ;  together  with  the  construc- 
tion and  usage  under  their  respective  articles,  and  so 
to  continue. 

"ART.  3.  The  limits  and  boundaries  of  the  Chero- 
kee nation,  as  stipulated  and  marked  by  the  existing 
treaties  between  the  parties,  shall  be  and  remain  the 
same,  where  not  altered  by  the  present  treaty." 

There  were  other  provisions,  in  other  treaties,  to 
which,  if  I  did  not  intend  to  take  up  as  little  time  as 
possible  of  the  Senate,  I  might  advantageously  call 
their  attention.  I  will,  however,  pass  on  to  one  of 
the  last  treaties  with  the  Cherokees,  which  was  con- 
cluded in  the  year  1817.  That  treaty  recognized  the 
difference  existing  between  the  t\vo  portions  of  the 
Cherokees,  one  of  which  was  desirous  to  remain  at 
home  and  prosecute  the  good  work  of  civilization,  in 
which  they  had  made  some  progress,  and  the  other 
portion  was  desirous  to  go  beyond  the  Mississippi. 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  CHEROKEES.   333 

In  that  treat}',  the  fifth  article,  after  several  other 
stipulations,  concludes  as  follows: 

"And  it  is  further  stipulated,  that  the  treaties  here- 
tofore made  between  the  Cherokee  nation  and  the 
United  States  are  to  continue  in  full  force  with  both 
parts  of  the  nation,  and  both  parts  thereof  are  enti- 
tled to  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  which  the 
old  nation  enjoyed  under  the  aforesaid  treaties;  the 
United  States  reserving  the  right  of  establishing  fac- 
tories, a  military  post,  and  roads,  within  the  bounda- 
ries above  defined." 

And  to  this  treaty,  thus  emphatically  renewing  the 
recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  Indians,  is  signed  the 
name,  as  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  United 
States  who  negotiated  it,  of  the  present  Chief  Magis- 
trate of  the  United  States. 

These  were  the  stipulations  in  treaties  with  tho 
Cherokee  nation,  to  which  I  thought  proper  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  Senate.  I  will  now  turn  to  the 
treaty  of  Greenville,  concluded  about  forty  years  ago, 
recognizing  some  general  principles  applicable  to  this 
subject.  The  fifth  article  of  that  treaty  reads  as  fol- 
lows : 

"To  prevent  any  misunderstanding  about  the  In- 
dian lands  relinquished  by  the  United  States  in  the 
fourth  article,  it  is  now  explicitly  declared,  that  the 
meaning  of  that  relinquishment  is  this :  the  Indian 
tribes  who  have  a  right  to  those  lauds  are  quietly  to 
enjoy  them,  hunting,  planting,  and  dwelling  thereon 
so  long  as  they  please,  without  any  molestation  from 
the  United  States;  but  when  these  tribes,  or  any  of 
them,  shall  be  disposed  to  sell  their  lands,  or  any  part 


834  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

of  them,  they  are  to  be  sold  only  to  the  United  States; 
and,  until  such  sale,  the  United  States  will  protect  all 
the  said  Indian  tribes  in  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  their 
lands  against  all  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  all 
other  white  persons  who  intrude  upon  the  same. 
And  the  said  Indian  tribes  again  acknowledge  them- 
selves to  be  under  the  protection  of  the  said  United 
States,  and  no  other  Power  whatever." 

Such,  sir,  are  the  rights  of  the  Indian  tribes.  And 
what  are  those  rights?  They  are,  that  the  Indians 
shall  live  under  their  own  customs  and  laws;  that 
they  shall  live  upon  their  own  lands,  hunting,  plant- 
ing, and  dwelling  thereon  so  long  as  they  please,  with- 
out interruption  or  molestation  of  any  sort  from  the 
white  people  of  the  United  States,  acknowledging 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  no  other  Power  whatever;  that  when  they  no 
longer  wish  to  keep  the  lands,  they  shall  sell  them 
only  to  the  United  States,  whose  Government  thus 
secures  to  itself  the  pre-emptive  right  of  purchase  in 
them.  These  rights,  so  secured  by  successive  trea- 
ties and  guarantees,  have  also  been  recognized,  on 
several  occasions,  by  the  highest  judicial  tribunals. 

But  it  is  not  at  home  alone  that  the  rights  of  the 
Indians  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  have 
been  recognized.  Not  only  has  the  Executive,  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Supreme 
Court,  recognized  these  rights,  but  in  one  of  the  most 
important  epochs  of  this  Government,  and  on  one  of 
the  most  solemn  occasions  in  our  intercourse  with 
foreign  Powers,  these  rights  of  the  Indian  tribes  have 
been  acknowledged.  You,  sir,  will  understand  me 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  CHEROKEES.   335 

at  once  to  refer  to  the  negotiation  between  the  Govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain  and  that  of  the  United  States, 
which  had  for  its  object  the  termination  of  the  late 
war  between  the  two  countries.  Sir,  it  must  be  within 
your  recollection,  and  that  of  every  member  of  the 
Senate,  that  the  hinge  upon  which  that  negotiation 
turned  —  the  ground  upon  which  it  was  for  a  long 
time  apprehended  that  the  conference  between  the 
commissioners  would  terminate  in  a  rupture  of  the 
negotiation  between  the  two  countries  —  was,  the 
claim  brought  forward  on  that  memorable  occasion 
by  Great  Britain  in  behalf  of  the  Indians  within  the 
limits  of  the  United  States.  It  will  be  recollected 
that  she  advanced,  as  a  principle  from  which  she 
would  not  recede,  as  a  sina  qua  non,  again  and  again, 
during  the  progress  of  the  negotiation,  that  the  In- 
dians, as  her  allies,  should  be  included  in  the  treaty 
of  peace  which  the  negotiators  were  about  forming; 
that  they  should  have  a  permanent  boundary  assigned 
them,  and  that  neither  Great  Britain  nor  the  United 
States  should  be  at  liberty  to  purchase  their  lands. 

Such  were  the  pretensions  urged  on  that  occasion, 
which  the  commissioners  of  the  United  States  felt  it 
to  be  their  imperative  duty  to  resist.  To  establish  as 
the  boundary  the  line  of  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  as 
proposed,  which  would  have  excluded  from  the  bene- 
fit of  American  laws  and  privileges  a  population  of 
not  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Ohio  —  American  citizens,  entitled  to  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Government  —  was  a  proposition  which 
the  American  negotiators  could  not  for  a  moment  en- 
tertain :  they  would  not  "even  refer  it  to  their  Govern- 


33G  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

ment,  though  assured  that  it  would  there  meet  the 
same  unanimous  rejection  that  it  did  from  them. 
But  it  became  a  matter  of  some  importance  that  a 
satisfactory  assurance  should  be  given  to  Great  Britain 
that  the  war,  which  we  were  about  to  bring  to  a  con- 
clusion with  her,  should  close  also  with  her  allies: 
and  what  was  that  assurance?  I  will  not  trouble  the 
Senate  with  tracing  the  whole  account  of  that  nego- 
tiation, but  I  beg  leave  to  call  your  attention  to  one 
of  the  passages  of  it.  You  will  find,  on  examining 
the  history  of  the  negotiation,  that  the  demand 
brought  forward  by  the  British  Government,  through 
their  minister,  on  this  occasion,  was  the  subject  of 
several  argumentative  papers.  Toward  the  close  of 
this  correspondence,  reviewing  the  course  pursued 
toward  the  aborigines  by  the  several  European  Powera 
which  had  planted  colonies  in  America,  comparing 
it  with  that  of  the  United  States,  and  contrasting 
the  lenity,  kindness,  and  forbearance  of  the  United 
States,  with  the  rigor  and  severity  of  other  Powers, 
the  American  negotiators  expressed  themselves  aa 
follows : 

"  From  the  rigor  of  this  system,  however,  as  prac- 
tised by  Great  Britain,  and  all  the  other  European 
Powers  in  America,  the  humane  and  liberal  policy  of 
the  United  States  has  voluntarily  relaxed.  A  cele- 
brated writer  on  the  law  of  nations,  to  whose  autho- 
rity British  jurists  have  taken  particular  satisfac- 
tion in  appealing,  after  stating,  in  the  most  explicit 
manner,  the  legitimacy  of  colonial  settlements  in 
America,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  rights  of  uncivilized 
Indian  tribes,  has  taken  occasion  to  praise  the  justice 


TREATMENT  OP  THE  CHEROKEES.   331 

and  humanity  of  the  first  settlers  of  New  England, 
and  of  the  founder  of  Pennsylvania,  in  having  pur- 
chased of  the  Indians  the  lands  they  resolved  to  cul- 
tivate, notwithstanding  their  being  furnished  with  a 
charter  from  their  sovereign.  It  is  this  example  which 
the  United  States,  since  they  became  by  their  inde- 
pendence the  sovereigns  of  the  territory,  have  adopted 
and  organized  into  a  political  system.  Under  that  si/a* 
tern,  the  Indians  residing  in  the  United  States  are  so 
far  independent,  that  they  live  under  their  own  customs, 
and  not  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States :  that  their 
rights  upon  the  lands  where  they  inhabit  or  hunt  are 
secured  to  them  by  boundaries  defined  in  amicable  trea- 
ties between  the  United  States  and  themselves ;  and 
that  whenever  those  boundaries  are  varied,  it  is  also 
by  amicable  and  voluntary  treaties,  by  which  they 
receive  from  the  United  States  ample  compensation 
for  every  right  they  have  to  the  lands  ceded  by 
them,"  &c. 

The  correspondence  was  further  continued ;  and 
finally  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain 
proposed  an  article  to  which  the  American  commis- 
sioners assented,  the  basis  of  which  is  a  declaration 
of  what  is  the  state  of  the  law  between  the  Indian 
tribes  and  the  people  of  the  United  States.  They 
then  proposed  a  further  article,  which  declared  that 
the  United  States  should  endeavor  to  restore  peace 
to  the  Indians  who  hud  acted  on  the  side  of  Great 
Britain,  together  with  all  the  rights,  possessions,  pri- 
vileges, and  immunities,  which  they  possessed  prior  to 
the  year  1811,  that  is,  antecedent  to  the  war  between 
England  and  the  United  States ;  in  consideration  that 
29  w 


838  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

Great  Britain  would  terminate  the  war  so  far  as  re- 
spected the  Indians  who  had  been  allies  of  the  United 
States,  and  restore  to  them  all  the  rights,  privileges, 
possessions,  and  immunities,  which  these  also  had 
enjoyed  previously  to  the  same  period.  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, I  here  state  my  solemn  belief,  that  if  the  Ame- 
rican commissioners  had  not  declared  the  laws  be- 
tween the  Indians  and  the  people  of  this  country, 
and  the  rights  of  the  Indians  to  be  such  as  they  are 
stated  to  be  in  the  extracts  I  have  read  to  the  Se- 
nate ;  if  they  had  then  stated  that  any  one  State  of 
this  Union,  which  happened  to  have  Indians  residing 
within  its  limits,  possessed  the  right  of  extending 
over  them  the  laws  of  such  State,  and  of  taking  their 
lands  when  and  how  it  pleased,  that  the  eft'eet  would 
have  been  a  prolongation  of  the  war.  I  again  declare 
my  most  solemn  belief  that  Great  Britain,  which  as- 
sented witli  great  reluctance  to  this  mutual  stipula- 
tion with  respect  to  the  Indians,  never  would  have 
done  it  at  all,  but  under  a  conviction  of  the  corre- 
spondence of -those  principles  of  Indian  international 
law  (if  I  may  use  such  a  phrase),  with  those  which  the 
United  States  Government,  had  respected  ever  since 
the  period  of  our  independence. 

Sir,  if  I  am  right  in  this,  let  me  ask  whether,  in 
adopting  the  new  code  which  now  prevails,  and  by 
which  the  rights  of  the  Indians  have  been  trampled 
on,  and  the  most  solemn  obligations  of  treaties  have 
been  disregarded,  we  are  not  chargeable  with  having 
induced  that  power  to  conclude  a  peace  with  us  by 
suggestions  utterly  unfounded  and  erroneous  ? 

Most  of  the  treaties  between  the  Cherokee  nation 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  CHEROKEES.   3oO 

of  Indians  and  the  United  States  have  been  submitted 
to  the  Seriate  for  ratification,  and  the   Senate   have 
acted  upon  them  in  conformity  with  their  constitu- 
tional power.     Beside  the  action  of  the  Senate,  as  a 
legislative  body,  in  the  enactment  of  laws  in  conform- 
ity with  their  stipulations,  regulating  the  intercourse 
of  our  citizens  with  that  nation,  it  has  acted  in  its 
separate  character,  and  confirmed  the  treaties  them- 
selves by  the  constitutional  majority  of  two-thirds  of 
its   members.     Thus  have  those  treaties  been  sanc- 
tioned l>y  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  by 
every  branch^of  this  Government;  by  the  Senate,  the 
Executive,  and  the  Supreme  Court ;  both  at  home  and 
abroad.    But  not  only  have  the  rights  of  the  Cherokees 
received  all  these  recognitions;  they  have  been,  by  im- 
plication, recognized  by  the  State  of  Georgia  itself,  in 
the  act  of  1802,  in  which  she  stipulated  that  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  and  not  the  State  of 
Georgia,  should  extinguish  the  Indian   title  to   the 
land  within  her  limits;  and  the  General  Government 
has  been,  from  time  to  time,  urged  by  Georgia  to 
comply  with  its  engagements,  from  that  period  until 
the  adoption  of  the  late  new  policy  upon  this  subject. 
Having  thus,  Mr.  President,  stated,  as  I  hope  with 
clearness,  the  RIGHTS  of  the  Indian  tribes,  as  recog- 
nized by  the  most  solemn  acts  that  can  be  entered 
into  by  any  Government,  let  me  in  the  next  place  in- 
quire into  the  nature  of  tho  injuries  which  have  been 
inflicted  upon  them;  in  other  words,  into  the  present 
condition  of  the  Cherokees,  to  whom  protection  has 
been  assured  as  well  by  solemn  treaties  as  by  the  laws 
and  guarantees  of  the  United  States  Government. 


840  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

And  here  let  me  be  permitted  to  say,  that  I  go  into 
this  subject  with  feelings  which  no  language  at  my 
command  will  enable  me  adequately  to  express.  I 
assure  the  Senate,  and  in  an  especial  manner  do  I 
assure  the  honorable  Senators  from  Georgia,  that  my 
wish  and  purpose  is  any  other  than  to  excite  the 
slightest  possible  irritation  on  the  part  of  any  human 
being.  Far  from  it.  I  am  actuated  only  by  feelings 
of  grief,  feelings  of  sorrow,  and  of  profound  regret, 
irresistibly  called  forth  by  a  contemplation  of  the 
miserable  condition  to  which  these  unfortunate  people 
have  been  reduced  by  acts  of  legislation  proceeding 
from  one  of  the  States  of  this  confederacy.  I  again 
assure  the  honorable  Senators  from  Georgia  that,  if 
it  has  become  my  painful  duty  to  comment  upon  some 
of  these  acts,  I  do  it  not  with  any  desire  to  place 
them,  or  the  State  they  represent,  in  an  invidious 
position ;  but  because  Georgia  was,  I  believe,  the  first 
in  the  career,  the  object  of  which  seems  to  he  the 
utter  annihilation  of  every  Indian  right,  and  because 
she  has  certainly,  in  the  promotion  of  it,  far  out- 
stripped every  other  State  in  the  Union. 

I  have  not  before  me  the  various  acts  of  the  State 
in  reference  to  the  Indians  within  her  bounds;  and 
it  is  possible  I  may  be  under  some  mistake  in  refer- 
ence to  them  ;  and  if  I  am,  no  one  will  correct  the 
error  more  readily  or  with  greater  pleasure. 

If,  however,  I  had  all  those  laws  in  my  hands,  I 
should  not  now  attempt  to  read  them.  Instead  of 
this,  it  will  be  sufficient  for  me  to  state  the  effects 
which  have  been  produced  by  them  upon  the  con- 
dition of  the  Cherokee  Indians  residing  in  that  State. 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  CHEROKEES.   84t 

And  here  follows  a  list  of  what  has  been  done  by  her 
Legislature.  Her  first  act  was  to  abolish  the  govern- 
ment of  these  Cherokees.  No  human  community  can 
exist  without  a  government  of  some  kind;  and  the 
Cherokees,  imitatingour  example,  and  having  learned 
from  us  something  of  the  principles  of  a  free  Consti- 
tution, established  for  themselves  a  government  some- 
what resembling  our  own.  It  is  quite  immaterial  to 
us  what  its  form  was.  They  always  had  had  some 
government  among  them ;  and  we  guaranteed  to  them 
the  right  of  living  under  their  own  laws  and  customs, 
unmolested  by  any  one;  insomuch  that  our  own  citi- 
zens were  outlawed,  should  they  presume  to  interfere 
with  them.  What  particular  regulations  they  adopted 
in  the  management  of  their  humble  and  limited  con- 
cerns, is  a  matter  with  which  we  have  no  concern. 
However,  the  very  first  act  of  the  Georgia  Legislature 
was  to  abolish  all  governments  of  every  sort  among 
these  people,  and  to  extend  the  laws  and  government 
of  the  State  of  Georgia  over  them.  The  next  step 
was  to  divide  their  territory  into  counties;  the  next, 
to  survey  the  Cherokee  lands ;  and  the  last,  to  dis- 
tribute this  land  among  the  citizens  of  Georgia  by 
lottery,  giving  to  every  head  of  a  family  one  ticket, 
and  the  prize  in  land  that  should  be  drawn  against  it. 
To  be  sure,  there  were  many  reservations  for  the  heads 
of  Indian  families — and  of  how  much  did  gentlemen 
suppose?  —  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  only,  and 
this  to  include  their  improvements.  But  even  to  this 
limited  possession,  the  poor  Indian  was  to  have  no 
fee-simple  title;  he  was  to  hold  as  a  mere  occupant, 
at  the  will  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  for  just  so  long 
29* 


842  SPEECHES    OT    ffENRY    CLAY. 

or  so  short  a  time  as  she  might  think  proper.  The 
laws  at  the  same  time  gave  him  no  one  particular  right 
whatever.  He  could  not  become  a  member  of  tho 
State  Legislature,  nor  could  he  hold  any  office  under 
State  authority,  nor  could  he  vote  as  an  elector.  He 
possessed  not  one  single  right  of  a  freeman.  No,  not 
even  the  poor  privilege  of  testifying  to  his  wrongs  in 
the  character  of  a  witness  in  the  courts  of  Georgia, 
or  in  any  matter  of  controversy  whatever. 

These,  Mr.  President,  are  the  acts  of  the  Legisla- 
ture of  the  State  of  Georgia  in  relation  to  the  Indians. 
They  were  not  all  passed  at  one  session ;  they  were 
enacted,  time  after  time,  as  the  State  advanced  fur- 
ther and  further  in  her  steps  to  the  acquisition  of  the 
Indian  country,  and  the  destruction  and  annihilation 
of  all  Indian  rights,  until,  by  a  recent  act  of  the  same 
body,  the  courts  of  the  State  itself  are  occluded 
against  the  Indian  sufferer,  and  he  is  actually  denied 
an  appeal  even  to  foreign  tribunals,  in  the  erection 
and  in  the  laws  of  which  he  had  no  voice,  there  to 
complain  of  his  wrongs.  If  he  enters  the  hall  of 
Georgia's  justice,  it  is  upon  a  surrender  at  the  thresh- 
old of  all  his  rights.  The  history  of  this  law  to  which 
I  have  alluded,  is  this:  When  the  previous  law  of  the 
State,  dividing  the  Indian  lands  by  lottery  was  passed, 
some  Indians  made  an  appeal  to  one  of  the  judges  of 
the  State,  and  applied  for  an  injunction  against  the 
proceeding;  and  such  was  the  undeniable  justice  of 
their  plea,  that  the  judge  found  himself  unable  to 
refuse  it,  and  he  granted  the  injunction  sought.  It 
was  the  injunction  which  led  to  the  passage  of  this 
act,  to  some  of  the  provisions  of  which  I  now  invite 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  CHEROKEES.   843 

the  attention  of  the  Senate.  And  first,  to  the  title 
of  the  act : 

"A  bill  to  amend  an  act  entitled  an  act  more  effect- 
ually to  provide  for  the  government  and  protection 
of  the  Cherokee  Indians  residing  within  the  limits 
of  Georgia:  and  to  prescribe  the  bounds  of  their 
occupant  claims:  and  also  to  authorize  grants  to  issue 
for  lots  drawn  in  the  late  land  and  gold  lotteries." 

Ah,  sir,  it  was  the  pursuit  of  gold  which  led  the 
Spanish  invader  to  desolate  the  fair  fields  of  Mexico 
and  Peru  — 

"And  to  provide  for  the  appointment  of  an  agent 
to  carry  certain  parts  thereof  into  execution ;  and  to 
fix  the  salary  of  such  agent,  and  to  punish  those  per- 
sons who  may  deter  Indians  from  enrolling  for  emi- 
gration, passed  20th  December,  1833." 

Well,  sir,  this  bill  goes  on  to  provide, 

"That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  agent  or  agents 
appointed  by  his  excellency  the  Governor,  under  the 
authority  of  this  or  the  act  of  which  it  is  amendatory, 
to  report  to  him  the  number,  district,  and  section  of 
all  lots  of  land  subject  to  be  granted  by  the  provisions 
of  said  act,  which  he  may  be  required  to  do  by  the 
drawer,  or  his  agent,  or  the  person  claiming  the 
earne ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  his  excellency  the 
Governor,  upon  the  application  of  the  drawer  of  any 
of  the  aforesaid  lots,  his  or  her  special  agents,  or  the 
person  to  whom  the  drawer  may  have  bona-fide  con- 
veyed the  same,  his  agent  or  assigns,  to  issue  a  grant 
therefor;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  agent 
or  agents,  upon  the  production  of  the  grant  so  issued 
as  aforesaid  by  the  grantor,  his  or  her  agent,  or  the 


844  SPEECH  ES    OF    HENRY    CLAT. 

person,  or  his  JT  her  agent  to  whom  the  said  land  so 
granted  as  aforesaid  may  have  been  bona-fide  con- 
veyed, to  deliver  possession  of  said  granted  lot  to  the 
said  grantee  or  person  entitled  to  the  possession  of 
the  same  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  or  the  act 
of  which  this  is  amendatory,  and  his  excellency  the 
Governor  is  hereby  authorized,  upon  satisfactory  evi- 
dence that  the  said  agent  is  impeded  or  resisted  in 
delivering  such  possession,  by  a  force  which  he  cannot 
overcome,  to  order  out  a  sufficient  force  to  carry  the 
power  of  said  agent  or  agents  fully  into  effect,  and  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  the  same  out  of  the  contingent 
fund:  Provided,  nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  so  con- 
strued as  to  require  the  interference  of  the  said  agent 
between  two  or  more  individuals  claiming  possession, 
by  virtue  of  titles  derived  from  a  grant  from  the  State, 
to  any  lot." 

Thus,  after  the  State  of  Georgia  had  distributed  the 
lands  of  the  Indians  by  lottery,  and  the  drawers  of 
prizes  were  authorized  to  receive  grants  of  the  land 
drawn,  and  with  these  grants  in  their  hand,  were 
authorized  to  demand  of  the  agent  of  the  State,  ap- 
pointed for  the  purpose,  to  be  put  in  possession  of  the 
soil  thus  obtained.  If  any  resistance  to  their  entry 
should  be  made — and  who  was  to  make  it  but  a  poor 
Indian  ?  —  the  Governor  was  empowered  to  turn  out 
the  military  force  of  the  State,  and  enable  the  agent 
to  take  possession  by  force,  without  trial,  without 
judgment,  and  without  investigation. 

But,  should  there  be  two  claimants  of  the  prize, 
should  two  of  the  ticket-holders  dispute  their  claim 
to  the  game  lot,  then  no  military  force  was  to  be  used. 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  CHEROKEE  9.   845 

It  was  only  when  the  resistance  was  by  an  Indian  — 
it  was  only  when  Indian  rights  should  come  into  col- 
lision with  the  alleged  rights  of  the  State  of  Georgia 
— that  the  strong  hand  of  military  power  was  instantly 
to  interpose. 

The  next  section  of  the  act  is  in  these  words: 
"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  if  any  person  dispossessed  of  a  lot  of  land  under 
this  act,  or  the  act  of  which  it  is  amendatory,  shall 
go  before  a  justice  of  the  peace  or  of  the  inferior 
court,  and  make  affidavit  that  he  or  she  was  not  liable 
to  be  dispossessed  under  or  by  any  of  the  provisions 
of  this  or  the  aforesaid  act,  and  tile  said  affidavit  in 
the  clerk's  office  of  the  superior  court  of  the  county 
in  which  said  land  shall  lie,  such  person,  upon  giving 
bond  and  security  in  the  clerk's  office  for  the  costs  to 
accrue  on  the  trial,  shall  be  permitted,  within  ten 
days  from  such  dispossessing,  to  enter  an  appeal  to 
said  superior  court,  and  at  said  court  the  judge  shall 
cause  an  issue  to  be  made  up  between  the  appellant 
and  the  person  to  whom  possession  of  said  land  was 
delivered  by  either  of  said  agents,  which  said  issue 
shall  be  in  the  following  form." 

[Mr.  Cuthbert,  of  Georgia,  here  interposed;  and, 
having  obtained  Mr.  Clay's  consent  to  explain,  stated 
that  he  had  unfortunately  not  been  in  the  Senate 
when  the  honorable  Senator  commenced  his  speech ; 
but  had  learned  that  it  was  in  support  of  a  memorial 
from  certain  Cherokee  Indians  in  the  State  of 
Georgia,  who  desired  to  emigrate.  He  must  be  per 
mitted  to  say,  that  the  current  of  the  honorable  Sena 
tor's  remarks  did  not  suit  remarkably  well  the  subject 


840  SPEECHES    OP    HENRY    CLA1. 

of  such  a  memorial.  A  memorial  of  a  different  kind 
had  been  presented,  and  which  the  Committee  on 
Indian  Affairs  had  before  it,  to  which  the  Senator's 
remarks  would  better  apply.  The  present  discussion 
was  wholly  unexpected,  and  it  seemed  to  him  not  in 
consistency  with  the  object  of  the  memorial  he  had 
presented.] 

MR.  CLAY. — I  am  truly  sorry  the  honorable  gentle- 
man was  absent  when  I  commenced  speaking.  I 
delayed  presenting  the  memorial  because  I  observed 
that  neither  of  the  Senators  from  Georgia  were  in 
their  seats,  until  the  hour  when  they  might  be  ex- 
pected to  be  present,  and  when  one  of  them  (Mr.  King) 
had  actually  taken  his  seat.  If  the  honorable  Senator 
had  been  present,  he  would  have  heard  me  say  that  I 
thought  the  presentation  of  the  memorial  a  fit  occa- 
sion to  express  my  sentiments,  not  only  touching  the 
rights  of  these  individual  petitioners,  but  on  the 
rights  of  all  the  Indian  tribes,  and  their  relations  to 
this  Government.  And  if  he  will  have  but  a  little 
patience,  he  will  find  that  it  is  my  intention  to  present 
propositions  which  go  to  embrace  both  resolutions. 

And  here,  Mr.  President,  let  me  pause  and  invite 
the  attention  of  the  Senate  to  the  provision  in  the  act 
of  Georgia  which  I  was  reading — that  is,  that  he  may 
have  the  privilege  of  an  appeal  to  a  tribunal  of  jus- 
tice, by  forms  and  by  a  bond  with  the  nature  and 
force  of  which  he  is  unacquainted;  and  that  then  he 
may  have — what  besides?  I  invoke  the  attention  of 
the  Senate  to  this  part  of  the  law.  What,  I  ask,  doei 
it  secure  to  the  Indian?  His  rights?  The  rights  re- 
cognized by  treaties?  The  rights  guaranteed  to  him. 


Ttit.  ATMElf  T    OF    THE    CHEROKEES.        347 

by  Jb.e  most  solemn  acts  which  human  governments 
eati  perform.  No.  It  allows  him  to  come  into  the 
courts  of  the  State,  and  there  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of 
the  summary  proceeding  called  in  the  act  "an  appeal !" 
— but  which  can  never  be  continued  beyond  a  second 
term;  and  when  he  comes  there,  what  then?  lie 
shall  be  permitted  to  come  into  court  and  enter  an. 
appeal,  which  shall  be  in  the  following  form: 

"A.  B.,  who  was  dispossessed  of  a  lot  of  land  by 
an  agent  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  comes  into  court, 
and  admitting  the  right  of  the  State  of  Georgia  to  pass 
the  law  under  which  said  agent  acted,  avers  that  he  was 
not  liable  to  be  dispossessed  of  said  land,  by  or  under 
any  one  of  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  Georgia,  passed  20th  December,  1833, 
'more  effectually  to  provide  for  the  protection  of  the 
Cherokee  Indians  residing  within  the  limits  of  Geor- 
gia, and  to  prescribe  the  bounds  of  their  occupant 
claims,  and  also  to  authorize  grants  to  issue  for  lots 
drawn  in  the  land  and  gold  lotteries  in  certain  cases, 
and  to  provide  for  the  appointment  of  an  agent  to 
carry  certain  parts  thereof  into  execution,  and  fix  the 
salary  of  such  agent,  and  to  punish  those  persons  who 
may  deter  Indians  from  enrolling  for  emigration,'  or 
the  act  amendatory  thereof,  passed  at  the  session  of 
the  Legislature  of  1834 :  '  in  which  issue  the  person  to 
whom  possession  of  said  land  was  delivered  shall 
join;  and  which  issue  shall  constitute  the  entire 
pleadings  between  the  parties ;  nor  shall  the  court 
allow  any  matter  other  than  is  contained  in  said  issue 
to  be  placed  upon  the  record  or  files  of  said  court; 
and  said  cause  shall  be  tried  at  the  first  term  of  the 


SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

court,  unless  good  cause  shall  be  shown  for  a  continu- 
ance, and  the  same  party  shall  not  be  permitted  to 
continue  said  cause  more  than  once,  except  for  un- 
avoidable providential  cause:  nor  shall  said  court,  at 
the  instance  of  either  party,  pass  any  order  or  grant 
at.y  injunction  to  stay  said  cause,  nor  permit  to  bo 
engrafted  on  said  cause  any  other  proceedings  what- 
ever." 

At  the  same  time  we  find,  by  another  enactment,  the 
judges  of  the  courts  of  Georgia  are  restrained  from 
granting  injunctions,  so  that  the  only  form  in  which 
the  Indian  can  come  before  them,  is  in  the  form  of 
an  appeal ;  and  in  this,  the  very  first  step  is  an  abso- 
lute renunciation  of  the  rights  he  holds  by  treaty,  and 
the  unqualified  admission  of  the  rights  of  his  antago- 
nist, as  conferred  by  the  laws  of  Georgia;  and  the 
court  is  expressly  prohibited  from  putting  anything 
else  upon  the  record.  "Why?  Do  we  not  all  know 
the  reason?  If  the  poor  Indian  was  allowed  to  put 
in  a  plea  stating  his  rights,  and  the  court  should  then 
decide  against  him,  the  cause  would  go  upon  an 
appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court;  the  decision  could  be 
re-examined,  could  be  annulled,  and  the  authority  of 
treaties  vindicated.  But,  to  prevent  this,  to  make  it 
impossible,  he  is  compelled,  on  entering  the  court,  to 
renounce  his  Indian  rights,  and  the  court  is  forbidden 
to  put  anything  on  record  which  can  bring  up  a  deci- 
sion upon  them. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  already  stated  that,  in  the 
observations  I  have  made,  I  am  actuated  by  no  other 
feeling  than  such  as  ought  to  be  in  the  breast  of 
every  honest  mail  —  the  feeling  of  common  justice. 


TREATMENT    OF    THE    C1IEROKEES.       349 

I  would   say  nothing,  I   would   whisper   nothing,  I 
would   insinuate   nothing,  I   would   think   nothing, 
which  can,  in  the  remotest  degree,  cause  irritation  in 
the  mind  of  any  one,  of  any  Senator  here,  of  any 
State  in  this  Union.     I  have  too  much  respect  for 
every  member  of  the  confederacy.     I  feel  nothing  but 
grief  for  the  wretched  condition  of  these  most  unfor- 
tunate people,  and  every  emotion  of  my  bosom  dis- 
suades me  from  the  use  of  epithets  that  might  raise 
emotions  which   should   draw  the  attention  of  the 
Senate  from  the  justice  of  their  claims.     I  forbear  to 
apply  to  this  law  any  epithet  of  any  kind.     Sir,  no 
epithet  is  needed.     The  features  of  the  law  itself;  its 
warrants  for  the  interposition  of  military  power,  when 
no  trial  and  no  judgment  has  been  allowed;  its  denial 
of  any  appeal,  unless  the  unhappy  Indian  shall  first 
renounce  his  own  rights,  and  admit  the  rights  of  his 
opponent — features  such  as  these,  are  enough  to  show 
what  the  true  character  of  the  act  is,  and  supersede 
the  necessity  of  all  epithets,  were  I  even  capable  of 
applying  them. 

The  Senate  will  thus  perceive  that  the  whole  power 
of  the  State  of  Georgia,  military  as  well  as  civil,  has 
been  made  to  bear  upon  these  Indians,  without  their 
having  any  voice  in  forming,  judging  upon,  or  exe- 
cuting the  laws  under  which  they  are  placed,  and 
without  even  the  poor  privilege  of  establishing  the 
injury  they  may  have  suffered  by  Indian  evidence; 
nay,  worse  still,  not  even  by  the  evidence  of  a  white 
man !  Because  the  renunciation  by  each  of  his  rights 
precludes  all  evidence,  white  or  black,  civilized  or 
eavage.  There,  then,  he  lies,  with  his  property,  hi8 
30 


350  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

rights,  and  every  privilege  which  makes  human  exist- 
ence  desirable,  at  the  mercy  of  the  State  of  Georgia; 
a  State  in  whose  government  or  laws  he  has  no  voice. 
Sir,  it  is  impossible  for  the  most  active  imagination  to 
conceive  a  condition  of  human  society  more  perfectly 
wretched.     Shall  I  be  told  that  the  condition  of  the 
African  slave  is  worse?     No,  sir;  no,  sir.     It  is  not 
worse.     The  interest  of  the  master  makes  it  at  onco 
his  duty  and  his  inclination  to  provide  for  the  comfort 
and   the   health  of  his   slave:  for  without   these  he 
would  he  unprofitable.     Both  pride  and  interest  ren- 
der the  master  prompt  in  vindicating  the  rights  of 
his  slave,  and  protecting  him  from  the  oppression  of 
others,  and  the  laws  secure  to  him  the  amplest  means 
to  do  so.     But  who,  what  human  being,  stands  in 
the  relation  of  master,  or  any  other  relation,  which 
makes  him  interested  in  the  preservation  and  protec- 
tion of  the  poor  Indian,  thus  degraded  and  miserable? 
Thrust  out  from  human  society,  without  the  sympa- 
thies of  any,  and  placed  without  the  pale  of  common 
justice,  who  is  there  to  protect  him,  or  to  defend  hia 
rights? 

Such,  Mr.  President,  is  the  present  condition  of 
these  Cherokee  memorialists,  whose  case  it  is  rny 
duty  to  submit  to  the  consideration  of  the  Senate. 
There  remains  but  one  more  inquiry  before  I  con- 
clude. Is  there  any  remedy  within  the  scope  of  the 
powers  of  the  Federal  Government  as  given  by  tho 
Constitution  ?  If  we  are  without  the  power,  if  wo 
have  no  constitutional  authority,  then  we  are  also 
without  responsibility.  Our  regrets  may  be  excited, 
our  sympathies  may  be  moved,  our  humanity  may  be 


TREATMENT  OF  THE  CHEROKEES.   351 

shocked,  our  hearts  may  be  grieved,  but  if  our  hands 
are  tied,  we  can  only  unite  with  all  the  good,  the 
Christian,  the  benevolent  portion  of  the  human  family, 
in  deploring  what  we  cannot  prevent. 

But,  sir,  we  are  not  thus  powerless.  I  stated  to 
the  Senate,  when  I  began,  that  there  are  two  classes 
of  the  Cherokees;  one  of  these  classes  desire  to  emi- 
grate, and  it  was  their  petition  I  presented  this  morn- 
ing; and  with  respect  to  these,  our  powers  are  ample 
to  afford  them  the  most  liberal  and  effectual  relief. 
They  wish  to  go  beyond  the  Mississippi,  and  to  be 
guaranteed  in  the  possession  of  the  country  which 
may  be  there  assigned  to  them.  As  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  have  full  powers  over  the  territo- 
tories,  we  may  give  them  all  the  guarantee  which 
Congress  can  express  for  the  undisturbed  possession 
of  their  lands.  With  respect  to  their  case  there  can 
be  no  question  as  to  our  powers. 

And  then,  as  to  those  who  desire  to  remain  on  this 
side  the  river,  I  ask  again,  are  we  powerless  ?  Can 
we  afford  them  no  redress  ?  Must  we  sit  still  and  see 
the  injury  they  suffer,  and  extend  no  hand  to  relieve 
them  ?  It  were  strange,  indeed,  were  such  the  case. 
Why  have  we  guaranteed  to  them  the  enjoyment  of 
their  own  laws  ?  Why  have  we  pledged  to  them 
protection  ?  Why  have  we  assigned  them  limits  of 
territory  ?  Why  have  we  declared  that  they  shall 
enjoy  their  homes  in  peace,  without  molestation  from 
any?  If  the  United  States  Government  has  con- 
tracted these  serious  obligations,  it  ought,  before  the 
Indians  were  induced  by  our  assurances  to  rely  upon 
our  engagement,  to  have  explained  to  them  its  want 


852  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAT. 

of  authority  to  make  the  contract.  Before  we  pre- 
tend to  Great  Britain,  to  Europe,  to  the  civilized 
world,  that  such  were  the  rights  we  would  secure  to 
the  Indians,  we  ought  to  have  examined  the  extent 
and  the  grounds  of  our  own  right  to  do  so.  But  is 
such,  indeed,  our  situation  ?  Xo,  sir.  Georgia  has 
shut  her  courts  against  these  Indians.  What  is  the 
remedy?  To  open  ours.  Have  we  not  the  right? 
What  883*8  the  Constitution  ? 

"  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  in 
law  and  equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the 
laws  of  the  United  States,  arid  treaties  made,  or  which 
shall  be  made,  under  their  authority." 

But  here  is  a  case  of  conflict  betvveen  the  rights  of 
the  proprietors  and  the  local  laws;  and  here  is  the 
very  case  which  the  Constitution  contemplated,  when 
it  declared  that  the  power  of  the  Federal  Judiciary 
should  extend  to  all  cases  arising  under  the  authority 
of  the  United  States.  Therefore  it  is  fully  within  the 
competence  of  Congress,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution,  to  provide  the  manner  in  which  the 
Cherokees  may  have  their  rights  decided,  because  a 
grant  of  the  means  is  included  in  the  grant  of  juris- 
diction. It  is  competent,  then,  for  Congress  to  de- 
cide whether  the  Cherokees  have  a  right  to  come  into 
a  court  of  justice,  and  to  make  an  appeal  to  the 
highest  authority  to  sustain  the  solemn  treaties  under 
which  their  rights  have  been  guaranteed,  and  in  the 
sacred  character  of  which  they  have  reposed  their 
confidence.  And  if  Congress  possesses  the  power 
to  extend  relief  to  the  Indians,  are  they  riot  bound 
by  the  most  sacred  of  human  considerations,  the  obli- 


TREATMENT  OP  THE  CHEROKEES.   353 

gations  of  treaties,  the  protection  assured  them,  by 
every  Christian  tie,  every  benevolent  feeling,  every 
humane  impulse  of  the  human  heart,  to  extend  it'f 
If  they  were  to  fail  to  do  this,  and  there  is,  as  rea- 
son and  revelation  declare  there  is,  a  tribunal  of 
eternal  justice  to  which  all  human  power  is  amena- 
ble, how  could  the}-,  if  they  refused  to  perform  their 
duties  to  this  injured  and  oppressed,  though  civilized 
race,  expect  to  escape  the  visitations  of  that  Divine 
vengeance  which  none  will  be  permitted  to  avoid 
who  have  committed  wrong,  or  done  injustice  to 
others? 

At  this  moment,  when  the  United  States  are  urg 
ing  on  the  Government  of  France  the  fulfilment  of 
the  obligations  of  the  treaty  concluded  with  that 
country,  to  the  execution  of  which  it  is  contended 
that  France  has  plighted  her  sacred  faith,  what 
strength,  what  an  irresistible  force  would  be  given 
to  our  plea,  if  we  could  say  to  France  that,  in  all  in- 
stances, we  had  completely  fulfilled  all  our  engage- 
ments, and  that  we  had  adhered  faithfully  to  every 
obligation  which  we  had  contracted,  no  matter  whe- 
ther it  was  entered  into  with  a  powerful  or  a  weak 
people  ;  if  we  could  say  to  her  that  we  had  complied 
with  all  our  engagements  to  others,  that  we  now 
came  before  her,  always  acting  right  as  we  had  done, 
to  induce  her  also  to  fulfil  her  obligations  with  us. 
IIow  shall  we  stand  in  the  eyes  of  France  and  of  the 
civilized  world,  if,  in  spite  of  the  most  solemn  trea- 
ties, which  have  existed  for  half  a  century,  and  have 
b^en  recognized  in  every  form,  and  by  every  brunch 
of  the  Government,  how  shall  we  be  justified  if  we 
30*  X 


354  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

suffer  these  treaties  to  be  trampled  under  foot,  and 
tiie  rights  which  they  were  given  to  secure  trodden 
in  the  dnst?  How  would  Great  Britain,  after  the 
solemn  understanding  entered  into  with  her  at  Ghent, 
feel  after  such  a  breach  of  faith  ?  And  how  could  I, 
as  a  commissioner  in  the  negotiation  of  that  treaty, 
hold  up  my  head  before  Great  Britain,  after  being 
thus  made  an  instrument  of  fraud  and  deception,  as 
1  assuredly  shall  be,  if  the  rights  of  the  Indians  are 
to  be  thus  outraged,  and  the  treaties  by  which  they 
were  secured  violated  ?  How  could  I  hold  up  my  head, 
after  such  a  violation  of  rights,  and  say  that  I  am 
proud  of  my  country,  of  which  we  must  all  wish  to  be 
proud  ? 

For  myself,  I  rejoice  that  I  have  been  spared,  and 
allowed  a  suitable  opportunity  to  present  my  views 
and  opinions  on  this  great  national  subject,  so  inte- 
resting to  the  character  of  the  country  for  justice  and 
equity.  I  rejoice  that  the  voice  which,  without  chargo 
of  presumption  or  arrogance,  I  may  say,  lias  ever 
been  raised  in  defence  of  the  oppressed  of  the  human 
species,  has  been  heard  in  defence  of  this  most  op- 
pressed of  all.  To  me,  in  that  awful  hour  of  death, 
to  which  all  must  come,  and  which,  with  respect  to 
myself,  cannot  be  very  far  distant,  it  will  be  a  source 
of  the  highest  consolation  that  an  opportunity  has 
l>een  found  by  rne,  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  in  the 
discharge  of  my  official  duty,  to  pronounce  my  views 
on  a  course  of  policy  marked  by  such  wrongs  as  are 
calculated  to  arrest  the  attention  of  every  one,  and 
that  1  have  raised  my  humble  voice,  and  pronounced 
my  solemn  protest  against  such  wrongs. 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  855 

III. 

ON  THE   PUBLIC  LANDS. 

Delivered  in  the  Senate  of  the   United  States,  1832. 

INT  rising  to  address  the  Senate,  I  owe,  in  tr.e  first 
place,  the  expression  of  my  hearty  thanks  to  the  ma- 
jority, by  whose  vote,  just  given,  I  am  indulged  in 
occupying  the  floor  on  this  most  important  question. 
I  am  happy  to  see  that  the  days  when  the  sedition 
acts  and  gag  laws  were  in  force,  and  when  screws 
were  applied  for  the  suppression  of  the  freedom  of 
speech  and  debate,  are  not  yet  to  return  ;  and  that, 
when  the  consideration  of  a  great  question  has  been 
specially  assigned  to  a  particular  day,  it  is  not  allowed 
to  be  arrested  and  thrust  aside  by  any  unexpected 
and  unprecedented  parliamentary  manoeuvre.  The 
decision  of  the  majority  demonstrates  that  feelings 
of  liberality,  and  courtesy,  and  kindness,  still  prevail 
iu  the  Senate ;  and  that  t\\ey  will  be  extended  even 
to  one  of  the  humblest  members  of  the  body ;  for 
Buch,  I  assure  the  Senate,  I  feel  myself  to  be. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  again  to  allude  to  the  extraor- 
dinary reference  of  the  subject  of  the  public  lands  to 
the  Committee  of  Manufactures.  I  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  motives  of  honorable  Senators  who  com- 
posed the  majority  by  which  that  reference  was  or- 
dered. The  decorum  proper  in  this  hall  obliges  me 
to  consider  their  motives  to  have  been  pure  and  pa- 
triotic. But  still  I  must  be  permitted  to  regard  the 


85G  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAT. 

proceeding  as  very  unusual.  Tlie  Senate  has  a  stand- 
ing Committee  on  the  Public  Lands,  appointed  under 
long  established  rules.  The  members  of  that  Com- 
mittee are  presumed  to  be  well  acquainted  with  the 
subject ;  they  have  some  of  them  occupied  the  same 
station  for  many  years,  are  well  versed  in  the  whole 
legislation  on  the  public  lands,  and  familiar  with 
every  branch  of  it;  and  four  out  of  five  of  them  come 
from  the  new  States.  Yet,  with  a  full  knowledge  of 
all  these  circumstances,  a  reference  was  ordered,  by  a 
majority  of  the  Senate,  to  the  Committee  on  Manu- 
factures—  a  Committee  than  which  there  is  not  an- 
other standing  committee  of  the  Senate  whose  pre- 
scribed duties  are  more  incongruous  with  the  public 
domain.  It  happened,  in  the  constitution  of  the 
Committee  of  Manufactures,  that  there  was  not  a 
solitary  Senator  from  the  new  States,  and  but  one 
from  any  "Western  State.  We  earnestly  protested 
against  the  reference,  and  insisted  upon  its  impro- 
priety ;  but  we  were  overruled  by  the  majority,  in- 
cluding a  majority  of  Senators  from  the  new  States. 
I  will  not  attempt  an  expression  of  the  feelings  ex- 
cited in  my  mind  on  that  occasion.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  intention  of  honorable  Senators,  I 
could  not  be  insensible  to  the  embarrassment  in  which 
the  Committee  of  Manufactures  was  placed,  and  espe- 
cially myself.  Although  any  other  member  of  that 
Committee  could  have  rendered  himself,  with  appro- 
priate researches  and  proper  time,  more  competent 
than  I  was  to  understand  the  subject  of  the  Public 
Lauds,  it  was  known  that,  from  my  local  position,  I 
aluiie  was  supposed  to  have  any  particular  knowledge 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LAXDS.  357 

of  them.  "Whatever  emanated  from  the  Committee 
was  likely,  therefore,  to  be  ascribed  to  me.  If  the 
Committee  should  propose  a  measure  of  great  libe- 
rality toward  the  new  States,  the  old  States  might 
complain  If  the  measure  should  seem  to  lean  to- 
ward the  old  States,  the  new  might  be  dissatisfied. 
And,  if  it  inclined  to  neither  class  of  States,  but 
recommended  a  plan  according  to  which  there  would 
be  distributed  impartial  justice  among  all  the  States, 
it  was  far  from  certain  that  any  would  be  pleased. 

Without  venturing  to  attribute  to  honorable  Sena- 
tors the  purpose  of  producing  this  personal  embar- 
rassment I  felt  it  as  a  necessary  consequence  of  their 
act,  ju^  as  much  as  if  it  had  been  in  their  contempla- 
tion. Nevertheless,  the  Committee  of  Manufactures 
cheerfully  entered  upon  the  dury  which,  against  its 
will,  was  thus  assigned  to  it  by  the  Senate.  And  for 
the  causes  already  noticed,  that  of  preparing  a  report 
and  suggesting  some  measure  embracing  the  whole 
subject,  devolved  in  the  committee  upon  me.  The 
general  features  of  our  land  system  were  strongly  im- 
pressed upon  rny  memory;  but  I  found  it  necessary 
to  re-examine  some  of  the  treaties,  deeds  of  cession, 
and  laws,  which  related  to  the  acquisition  and  admin- 
istration of  the  public  lands;  and  then  to  think  of, 
and  if  possible  strike  out  some  project,  which,  with- 
out inflicting  injury  upon  any  of  the  States,  might 
deal  equally  and  justly  with  all  of  them.  The  report 
and  bill,  submitted  to  the  Senate,  after  having  been 
previously  sanctioned  by  a  majority  of  the  Commit- 
tee, were  the  results  of  this  consideration.  The  re- 
port, with  the  exception  of  the  principle  of  distribu- 


358  SPEECHES     OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

tion   which   concludes   it,    obtained   the   unanimous 
concurrence  of  the  Committee  of  Manufactures. 

This  report  and  bill  were  hardly  read  in  the  Senate 
before  they  were  violently  denounced.  And  they 
were  not  considered  by  the  Senate  before  a  proposi- 
tion was  made  to  refer  the  report  to  that  very  Com- 
mittee of  the  Public  Lands  to  which,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, I  contended  the  subject  ought  to  have  been 
assigned.  It  was  in  vain  that  we  remonstrated  against 
such  a  proceeding,  as  unprecedented;  as  implying 
unmerited  censure  on  the  Committee  of  Manufac- 
ture's; as  leading  to  interminable  references:  for  what 
more  reason  could  there  be  to  refer  the  report  of  the 
Committee  of  Manufactures  to  the  Land  Committee 
than  would  exist  for  a  subsequent  reference  of  the 
report  of  this  Committee,  when  made,  to  some  third 
committee,  and  so  on  in  an  endless  circle?  In  spite 
of  all  our  remonstrances,  the  same  majority,  with  but 
little  if  any  variation,  which  had  originally  resolved 
to  refer  the  subject  to  the  Committee  of  Manufac- 
tures, now  determined  to  commit  its  bill  to  the  Land 
Committee.  And  this  not  only  without  particular 
examination  into  the  merits  of  the  bill,  but  without 
the  avowal  of  any  specific  amendment  which  was 
deemed  necessary!  The  Committee  of  Public  Lands, 
after  the  lapse  of  some  days,  presented  a  report,  and 
recommended  a  reduction  of  the  price  of  the  p  iblic 
lands  immediately  to  one  dollar  per  acre,  and  eventu- 
ally to  fifty  cents  per  acre ;  and  the  grant  to  the  new 
States  of  fifteen  per  cent,  on  the  nett  proceeds  of  the 
sales,  instead  of  ten,  as  proposed  by  the  Committee 
of  Manufactures,  and  nothing  to  the  old  States. 


ON     THE    PUBLIC    LANDS. 

And  now,  Mr.  President,  I  desire  at  this  time  to 
make  a  few  observations  in  illustration  of  the  origi- 
nal report;  to  supply  some  omissions  in  its  composi- 
tion ;  to  say  something  as  to  the  power  and  rights  of 
the  General  Government  over  the  public  domain  ;  to 
submit  a  few  remarks  on  the  counter-report;  and  to 
examine  the  assumptions  which  it  contains,  and  the 
principles  on  which  it  is  founded. 

No  subject  which  had  presented  itself  to  the  pre- 
sent, or  perhaps  any  preceding  Congress,  was  of 
greater  magnitude  than  that  of  the  public  lands. 
There  was  another,  indeed,  which  possessed  a  more 
exciting  and  absorbing  interest,  but  the  excitement 
was  happily  but  temporary  in  its  nature.  Long  after 
we  shall  cease  to  be  agitated  by  the  tariff,  ages  after 
our  manufactures  shall  have  acquired  a  stability  and 
perfection  which  will  enable  them  successfully  to 
cope  with  the  manufactures  of  any  other  country,  the 
public  lands  will  remain  a  subject  of  deep  and  endu- 
ring interest.  In  whatever  view  we  contemplate  them, 
there  is  no  question  of  such  vast  importance.  As  to 
their  extent,  there  is  public  land  enough  to  found  an 
empire;  stretching  across  the  immense  continent, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  from  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  northwestern  lakes,  the  quan- 
tity, according  to  official  surveys  and  estimates, 
amounting  to  the  prodigious  sum  of  one  billion  and 
eighty  millions  of  acres!  As  to  the  duration  of  the 
interest  regarded  as  a  source  of  comfort  to  our  people, 
and  of  public  income  —  during  the  last  year,  when 
a  greater  quantity  was  sold  than  ever  in  one  year  had 
been  previously  sold,  it  amounted  to  less  than  three 


360  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

millions  of  acres,  producing  three  and  a  half  millions 
of  dollars.  Assuming  that  year  as  affording  the 
standard  rate  at  which  the  lands  will  be  annually 
sold,  it  would  require  three  hundred  years  to  dis- 
pose of  them.  But  the  sales  will  probably  be  acce- 
lerated from  increased  population  and  other  causes. 
We  may  safely,  however,  anticipate  that  long,  if 
not  centuries  after  the  present  day,  the  representa- 
tives of  our  children's  children  may  be  deliberating 
in  the  halls  of  Congress  on  laws  relating  to  the  pub- 
lic lands.  • 

The  subject,  on  other  points  of  view,  challenged 
the  fullest  attention  of  an  American  statesman.  If 
there  were  anyone  circumstance  more  than  all  others 
which  distinguished  our  happy  condition  from  that 
of  the  nations  of  the  Old  World,  it  was  the  possession 
of  this  vast  national  property,  and  the  resources  which 
it  afforded  to  our  people  and  our  Government.  No 
European  nation  (possibly  with  the  exception  of  Rus- 
sia) commanded  such  an  ample  resource.  With  re- 
epeet  to  the  other  Republics  of  this  continent,  we 
have  no  information  that  any  of  them  have  yet  adopted 
a  regular  system  of  previous  survey  and  subsequent 
sale  of  their  wild  lands,  in  convenient  tracts,  well  de- 
fined, and  adapted  to  the  wants  of  all.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  probability  is  that  they  adhere  to  the  ruin- 
ous and  mad  system  of  old  Spain,  according  to  which 
large,  unsurveyed  districts  are  granted  to  favorite  in- 
dividuals, prejudicial  to  them,  who  often  sink  under 
the  incumbrance,  and  die  in  poverty,  while  the  regu- 
lar current  of  immigration  is  checked  and  diverted 
from  its  legitimate  channels. 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LAXDS.  361 

And  if  there  be,  in  the  operations  of  this  Govern- 
ment, one  which  more  than  any  other  displays  con- 
summate wisdom  and  statesmanship,  it  is  that  system 
hy  which  the  pnhlic  lands  have  been  eo  successfully 
administered.  We  should  pause,  solemnly  pause, 
before  we  subvert  it.  We  should  touch  it  hesita- 
tingly, and  with  the  gentlest  hand.  The  prudent 
management  of  the  puhlic  lands,  in  the  hands  of  the 
General  Government,  will  be  more  manifest  by  con- 
trasting it  with  that  of  several  of  the  States,  which 
had  the  disposal  of  large  bodies  of  waste  "lands.  Vir- 
ginia possessed  an  ample  domain  west  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  in  the  present  State  of  Kentucky,  over  and 
above  her  munificent  cession  to  the  General  Govern- 
ment. Pressed  for  pecuniary  means,  by  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  she  brought  her  wild  lands,  during  its 
progress,  into  market,  receiving  payment  in  paper- 
money.  There  were  no  previous  surveys  of  the  waste 
lands  —  no  townships,  no  sections,  no  official  defini- 
tion or  description  of  tracts.  Each  purchaser  made 
his  own  location,  describing  the  land  bought  as  he 
thought  proper.  These  locations  or  descriptions  were 
often  vague  and  uncertain.  The  consequence  was> 
that  the  same  tract  was  not  unfrequently  entered  va- 
rious times  by  different  purchasers,  so  as  to  be  lite- 
rally shingled  over  with  conflicting  claims.  The 
Srate  perhaps  sold  in  this  way  more  than  it  was  enti- 
tled to,  but  then  it  received  nothing  in  return  that 
was  valuable;  while  the  purchasers,  in  consequence 
of  the  clashing  and  interference  between  their  rights, 
were  exposed  to  tedious,  vexatious,  and  ruinous  liti- 
gation. Kentucky  long  and  severely  suffered  from 
31 


£62  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

this  cnnso,  and  is  just  emerging1  from  the  troubles 
brought  upon  her  by  improvident  land  legislation. 
Western  Virginia  has  also  suffered  greatly,  though 
not  to  the  same  extent. 

The  State  of  Georgia  had  large  bodies  of  waste 
lands,  which  she  disposed  of  in  a  manner  satisfactory, 
no  doubt,  to  herself,  but  astonishing  to  every  one  out 
of  that  commonwealth.  Accord! nar  to  her  system, 

o  *t 

waste  lands  are  distributed  in  lotteries  among  the 
people  of  the  State,  in  conformity  with  the  cnsict- 
nients  of  the  Legislature.  And  when  one  district  of 
country  is  disposed  of,  as  there  are  many  who  do  not 
draw  prizes,  the  unsuccessful  call  out  for  fresh  distri- 
butions. These  are  made  from  time  to  time,  as  land?, 
are  acquired  from  the  Indians;  and  hence  one  of  the 
causes  of  the  avidity  with  which  the  Indian  lands  are 
sought.  It  is  manifest  that  neither  the  present  gene- 
ration nor  posterity  can  derive  much  advantage  from 
this  mode  of  alienating  public  lands.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  should  think,  it  cannot  fail  to  engender  spe- 
culation and  a  spirit  of  gambling. 

The  State  of  Kentucky,  in  virtue  of  a  compact  with 
Virginia,  acquired  a  right  to  a  quantity  of  public 
lands  south  of  Green  river.  Neglecting  to  profit  by 
the  unfortunate  example  of  the  parent  State,  she  did 
not  order  the  country  to  be  surveyed  previous  to  its 
being  offered  to  purchasers.  Seduced  by  some  of 
those  wild  land  projects,  of  which  at  all  times  there 
have  been  some  afloat,  and  which  hitherto  the  Gene- 
ral Government  alone  has  firmly  resisted,  she  was 
tempted  to  ofier  her  waste  lands  to  settlers,  at  difi'er 
eut  prices,  under  the  name  of  head-rights  or  pro- 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  362 

emptions.  As  the  laws,  like  most  legislation  :ipou 
such  subject?,  were  somewhat  loosely  worded,  the 
keen  eye  of  the  speculator  soon  discerned  the  defects, 
and  he  took  advantage  of  them.  Instances  had  oc- 
curred of  masters  obtaining  certificates  of  head-rights 
in  the  name  of  their  slaves,  and  thus  securing  the 
land,  in  contravention  of  the  intention  of  the  Legis- 
lature. Slaves  generally  have  but  one  name,  being 
called  Tom,  Jack,  Dick,  or  Harry.  To  conceal  the 
fraud,  the  owner  would  add  Black,  or  some  other  cog- 
nomination,  so  that  the  certificate  would  read  Tom 
Black,  Jack  Black,  &c.  The  gentleman  from  Ten- 
nessee (Mr.  Grundy)  will  remember,  some  twenty-odd 
years  ago,  when  we  were  both  members  of  the  Ken- 
tucky Legislature,  that  I  took  occasion  to  animadvert 
upon  these  fraudulent  practices,  and  observed  that 
when  the  names  came  to  be  alphabeted,  the  truth 
would  be  told,  whatever  might  be  the  language  of 
the  record;  for  the  alphabet  would  read  Black  Torn, 
Black  Harry,  &c.  Kentucky  realized  more  in  her 
treasury  than  the  parent  State  had  done,  considering 
that  she  had  but  a  remnant  of  public  lands,  and  she 
added  somewhat  to  her  population.  But  her  lands 
were  far  less  available  than  they  would  have  been 
under  a  system  of  previous  survey  and  regular  sale. 

These  observations  in  respect  to  the  course  of  the 
respectable  States  referred  to,  in  relation  to  their 
public  lands,  are  not  prompted  by  any  unkind  feelings 
toward  them,  but  to  show  the  superiority  of  the  land 
system  of  the  United  States. 

Under  the  system  of  the  General  Government,  the 
v  'tsdoin  of  which,  in  some  respects,  is  admitted  even 


3G4  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

by  the  report  of  tlie  land  committee,  the  country  sub- 
ject to  its  operation,  beyond  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains, has  rapidly  advanced  in  population,  improve- 
ment, and  prosperity.  The  example  of  the  State  of 
Ohio  was  emphatically  relied  on  by  the  report  of  the 
committee  of  manufactures — its  million  of  people,  its 
canals  and  other  improvements,  its  flourishing  towns, 
its  highly-cultivated  fields,  all  put  there  within  le>s 
than  forty  years.  To  weaken  the  force  of  this  ex- 
ample, the  land  committee  deny  that  the  population 
of  that  State  is  principally  settled  upon  public  lands 
derived  from  the  General  Government.  But,  Mr. 
President,  with  great  deference  to  that  committee,  I 
must  say  that  it  labors  under  misapprehension.  Three- 
fourths,  if  not  four-fifths,  of  the  population  of  that 
State  are  settled  upon  public  lands  purchased  from 
the  United  States,  and  they  are  the  most  flourishing 
parts  of  the  State.  For  the  correctness  of  this  state- 
ment, I  appeal  to  my  friend  from  Ohio  (Mr.  Ewinjr), 
near  me.  He  knows,  as  well  as  I  do,  that  the  rich 
valleys  of  the  Miami  of  Ohio,  and  the  Maurnee  of  tl'O 
.ake,  the  Scioto  and  the  Mu.-kingum,  are  principally 
settled  by  persons  deriving  titles  to  their  lands  from 
the  United  States. 

In  a  national  point  of  view,  one  of  the  greatest  ad- 
vantages which  these  public  lands  in  the  West,  and 
this  system  of  selling  them,  affords,  is  the  resource 
which  they  present  against  pressure  and  want,  in  other 
parts  of  the  Union,  from  the  vocations  of  society 
being  too  closely  filled  and  too  much  crowded.  They 
constantly  tend  to  sustain  the  price  of  labor,  by  the 
opportunity  which  they  offer  for  the  acquisition  of 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  865 

fertile  land  at  a  moderate  price,  and  the  consequent 
temptation  to  emigrate  from  those  parts  of  the  Uiiion 
where  labor  may  be  badly  rewarded. 

The  progress  of  settlement,  and  the  improvement 
in  the  fortunes  and  condition  of  individuals,  under 
the  operation  of  this  benelicent  system,  are  as  simple 
as  they  are  manifest.  Pioneers  of  a  more  adven- 
turous character,  advancing  before  the  tide  of  emi- 
gration, penetrate  into  the  uninhabited  regions  of  the 
West.  They  apply  the  axe  to  the  forest,  which  falls 
before  them,  or  the  plough  to  the  prairie,  deeply  sink- 
ing its  share  in  the  unbroken  wild  grasses  in  which  it 
abounds.  They  build  houses,  plant  orchards,  inclose 
fields,  cultivate  the  earth,  and  rear  up  families  around 
them.  Meantime,  the  tide  of  emigration  flows  upon 
them,  their  improved  farms  rise  in  value,  a  demand 
for  them  takes  place,  they  sell  to  the  new-comers  at  a 
great  advance,  and  proceed  farther  West,  with  ample 
means  to  purchase  from  government,  at  reasonable 
prices,  sufficient  laud  for  all  the  members  of  their 
families.  Another  and  another  succeeds,  the  lirst 
pushing  on  westwardly  the  previous  settlers,  who  in 
their  turn -sell  out  their  farms,  constantly  augmenting 
in  price,  until  they  arrive  at  a  fixed  and  stationary 
value.  In  this  way,  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
are  daily  improving  their  circumstances  and  bettering 
their  condition.  I  have  often  witnessed  this  grati- 
fying progress.  On  the  same  farm  you  may  some- 
times behold,  standing  together,  the  first  rude  cabin 
of  round  and  unhewn  logs,  and  wooden  chimneys; 
the  hewed-log  house,  chinked  and  shingled,  with 
stone  or  brick  chimneys ;  and  lastly,  the  comfortable 
31* 


366  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY     CLAT. 

brick  or  stone  dwelling;  each  denoting  the  different 
occupants  of  the  farm,  OF  the  several  stages  in  the 
condition  of  the  same  occupant.  What  other  nation 
can  hoast  of  such  an  outlet  for  its  increasing  popu- 
lation, such  bountiful  means  of  promoting  their  pros- 
perity, and  sccu.ring  their  independence? 

To  the  public  lands  of  the  United  States,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  existing  system  by  which  they  are  dis- 
tributed with  so  much  regularity  and  equity,  are  we 
indebted  for  these  signal  benefits  in  our  national  con- 
dition. And  every  consideration  of  duty,  to  our- 
selves and  to  posterity,  enjoins  that  we  should  abstain 
from  the  adoption  of  any  wild  project  that  would  cast 
away  this  vast  national  property,  holden  by  the  Gene- 
ral Government  in  sacred  trust  for  the  whole  people 
of  the  United  States,  and  forbids  that  we  should 
rashly  touch  a  system  which  has  been  so  successfully 
tested  by  experience. 

It  has  been  only  within  a  few  years  that  restless 
men  have  thrown  before  the  public  their  visionary 
plans  for  squandering  the  public  domain.  With  the 
existing  laws  the  great  State  of  the  West  is  satisfied 
and  contented.  She  has  felt  their  benefit,  and  grown 
great  and  powerful  under  their  sway.  She  knows 
and  testifies  to  the  liberality  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment in  the  administration  of  the  public  lands,  ex- 
tended alike  to  her  and  to  the  other  new  States. 
There  are  no  petitions  from,  no  movements  in  Ohio, 
proposing  vital  and  radical  changes  in  the  system. 
During  the  long  period,  in  the  House  of  Eepresenta- 
tives  and  in  the  Senate,  that  her  upright  and  unam- 
bitious citizen,  the  first  representative  of  that  State, 


ON     THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  867 

and  afterward  successively  Senator  and  Governor, 
presided  over  the  Committee  of  Public  Lands,  wo 
heard  of  none  of  these  chimerical  schemes.  All  went 
on  smoothly,  and  quie'.y,  and  safely.  No  man,  in 
the  sphere  within  which  he  has  acted,  ever  com- 
manded or  deserved  the  implicit  confidence  of  Con- 
gress more  than  Jeremiah  Morrow.  There  existed  a 
perfect  persuasion  of  his  entire  impartiality  and  justice 
between  the  old  States  and  the  new.  A  few  artless 
but  sensible  words,  pronounced  in  his  plain  Scotch- 
Irish  dialect,  were  always  sufficient  to  insure  the  pas- 
sage of  any  bill  or  resolution  which  he  reported.  For 
about  twenty-five  years  there  was  no  essential  change 
in.  the  system ;  and  that  which  was  at  last  made, 
varying  the  price  of  the  public  lands  from  two  dollars, 
at  which  it  had  all  that  time  remained,  to  one  dollar 
and  a  quarter,  at  which  it  has  been  fixed  only  about 
ten  or  twelve  }-ears,  was  founded  mainly  on  the  con- 
sideration of  abolishing  the  previous  credits. 

Assuming  the  duplication  of  our  population  in 
terms  of  twenty -five  years,  the  demand  for  waste 
land,  at  the  end  of  every  term,  will  at  least  be  double 
what  it  was  at  the  commencement.  But  the  ratio  of 
the  increased  demand  will  be  much  greater  than  the 
increase  of  the  whole  population  of  the  United  States, 
because  the  Western  States  nearest  to,  or  including 
the  public  lands,  populate  much  more  rapidly  than 
other  parts  of  the  Union ;  and  it  will  be  from  them 
that  the  greatest  current  of  emigration  will  flow.  At 
this  moment  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  are  the 
most  migrating  States  in  the  Union. 

To  supply  this  constantly -augmenting  .demand,  the 


868  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

policy  wbicli  lias  hitherto  characterized  the  General 
Government  has  heen  highly  liberal  toward  hoth  in- 
dividuals and  the  new  States.  Large  tracts,  far  sur 
passing  the  demand  of  purchasers,  in  every  climate 
and  situation,  adapted  to  the  wants  of  all  parts  ot'tlie 
Union,  are  brought  into  market  at  moderate  prices, 
the  Government  having  sustained  all  the  expense  of 
the  original  purchase,  and  of  surveying,  narking, 
and  dividing  the  land.  For  fifty  dollars  any  poor 
man  may  purchase  forty  acres  of  tir.-t-rate  land  ;  and 
for  less  than  the  wages  of  one  year's  labor,  he  may 
buy  eighty  acres.  To  the  new  States,  also,  has  the 
Government  been  liberal  and  generous  in  the  grants 
for  schools  and  for  internal  improvements,  as  well  as 
in  reducing  the  debt  contracted  for  the  purchase  of 
lands,  by  the  citizens  of  those  States,  who  were 
tempted,  in  a  spirit  of  inordinate  speculation,  to  pur- 
chase too  much,  or  at  too  high  prices. 

Such  is  a  rapid  outline  of  this  invaluable  national 
property — of  the  system  which  regulates  its  manage- 
ment and  distribution,  and  of  the  effects  of  that  sys- 
tem. We  might  here  pause,  and  wonder  that  there 
should  be  a  disposition  with  any  to  waste  or  throw 
away  this  great  resource,  or  to  abolish  a  system  which 
has  been  fraught  with  so  many  manifest  advantages. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  such  who,  impatient  with  the 
slow  and  natural  operation  of  wise  laws,  have  put 
forth  various  pretensions  and  projects  concerning  the 
public  lands,  within  a  few  years  past.  One  of  these 
pretensions  is  an  assumption  of  the  sovereign  right 
of  the  new  States  to  all  the  lands  within  their  respec- 
tive limits,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  General  Govern- 


ON    THE     PUBLIC     LANDS.  369 

ment,  and  to  the  exclusion  of  all  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  those  in  the  new  States  only  excepted. 
It  is  my  purpose  now  to  trace  the  origin,  examine  the 
nature,  and  expose  the  injustice  of  this  pretension. 

This  pretension  may  be  fairly  ascribed  to  the  pro- 
positions of  the  gentleman  from  Missouri  (Mr.  Benton) 
to  graduate  the  public  lands,  to  reduce  the  price,  and 
cede  the  "  refuse"  lands  (a  term  which  I  believe  ori- 
ginated with  him)  to  the  States  within  which  they 
lie.  Prompted  probably  by  these  propositions,  a  late 
Governor  of  Illinois,  unwilling  to  be  outdone,  pre- 
sented an  elaborate  message  to  the  Legislature  of  that 
State,  in  which  he  gravely  and  formally  asserted  the 
right  of  that  State  to  all  the  land  of  the  United  States 
comprehended  within  its  limits.  It  must  be  allowed 
that  the  Governor  was  a  most  impartial  judge,  and 
the  Legislature  a  most  disinterested  tribunal,  to  decide 
such  a  question  ! 

The  Senator  from  Missouri  was  chanting  most 
sweetly  to  the  tune  "refuse  lands,"  "  refuse  lands," 
"refuse  lands,"  on  the  Missouri  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  the  eoft  strains  of  his  music  having  caught 
the  ear  of  his  excellency  on  the  Illinois  side,  he  joined 
in  chorus  and  struck  an  octave  higher.  The  Senator 
from  Missouri  wished  only  to  pick  up  some  crumbs 
which  fell  from  Uncle  Sam's  table;  but  the  Governor 
resolved  to  grasp  the  whole  loaf.  The  Senator  mod- 
estly claimed  only  an  old,  smoked,  rejected  joint;  but 
the  stomach  of  his  excellency  yearned  after  the  whole 
hog!  The  Governor  peeped  over  the  Mississippi  into 
Missouri,  and  saw  the  Senator  leisurely  roaming  in 
some  rich  pastures,  on  bits  of  refuse  lands.  lie  re- 

Y 


370   '  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

turned  to  Illinois,  and,  springing  into  the  grand 
prairie,  determined  to  claim  and  occupy  it  in  all  ita 
boundless  extent. 

Then  came  the  resolution  of  the  Senator  from  Vir- 
ginia (Mr.  Tazewell)  in  May,  182G,  in  the  following 
words : 

"  Resolved*  That  it  is  expedient  for  the  United 
States  to  cede  and  surrender  to  the  several  States, 
within  whose  limits  the  same  may  he  situated,  all  the 
right,  title,  and  interest  of  the  United  States,  to  any 
lands  lying  and  being  within  the  boundaries  of  puch 
States,  respectively,  upon  such  terms  and  conditions 
as  may  be  consistent  with  the  due  observance  of  the 
public  faith,  and  with  the  general  interest  of  the 
United  States." 

The  latter  words  rendered  the  resolution  somewhat 
ambiguous;  but  still  it  contemplated  a  cession  and 
surrender.  Subsequently,  the  Senator  from  Virginia 
proposed,  after  a  certain  time,  a  gratuitous  surrender 
of  all  unsold  lands,  to  be  applied  by  the  Legislature. 
in  support  of  education  and  the  internal  improvement  of 
the  State. 

[Here  Mr.  Tazewell  controverted  the  statement. 
Mr.  Clay  called  to  the  Secretary  to  hand  him  the 
journal  of  April,  1828,  which  he  held  up  to  the  Sen- 
ate, and  read  from  it  the  following: 

"The  bill  to  graduate  the  price  of  the  public  lands, 
to  make  donations  thereof  to  actual  settlers,  and  to 
cede  the  refuse  to  the  States  in  which  they  lie,  being 
under  consideration  — 

Mr.  Tazewell  moved  to  insert  the  following  as  a 
substitute : 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  871 

"That  the  lands  which  shall  have  been  subject  to 
Bale  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  shall  remain 
unsold  for  two  years,  after  having  been  offered  at 
twenty-five  cents  per  acre,  shall  be,  and  the  same  are 
ceded  to  the  State  in  which  the  same  may  lie,  to  be 
applied  by  the  Legislature  thereof  in  support  of  edu- 
cation, and  the  internal  improvement  of  the  State."] 

Thus  it^appears  not  only  that  the  honorable  Sena- 
tor proposed  the  cession,  but  showed  himself  the 
friend  of  education  and  internal  improvements,  by 
means  derived  from  the  General  Government.  For 
this  liberal  disposition  on  his  part,  I  believe  it  was, 
that  the  State  of  Missouri  honored  a  new  county  with 
his  name.  If  he  had  carried  his  proposition,  that 
State  might  well  have  granted  a  principality  to  him. 

The  memorial  of  the  Legislature  of  Illinois,  pro- 
bably produced  by  the  message  of  the  Governor  al- 
ready noticed,  had  been  presented,  asserting  a  claim 
to  the  public  lands.  And  it  seems  —  although  the 
fact  had  escaped  my  recollection  until  I  was  reminded 
of  it  by  one  of  her  Senators  (Mr.  Ilendncks)  the 
other  day  —  that  the  Legislature  of  Indiana  had  in- 
structed her  Senators  to  bring  forward  a  sir.iilar  claim. 
At  the  last  session,  however,  of  the  Legislature  of 
that  State,  resolutions  had  passed,  instructing  her 
delegation  to  obtain  from  the  General  Government 
cessions  of  the  unappropriated  public  kinds,  on  the 
most  favorable  terms.  It  is  clear  from  this  last  ex- 
pression of  the  will  of  that  Legislature,  that,  on  re- 
consideration, it  believed  the  right  of  the  public  hinds 
to  be  in  the  General  Government,  and  not  in  tho 
State  of  Indiana.  For,  if  they  did  not  belong  to  tho 


372  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

General  Government,  it  had  nothing  to  cede;  if  they 
belonged  already  to  the  State,  no  cession  was  neces- 
sary to  the  perfection  of  the  right  of  the  State. 

I  will  here  suhrnit  a  passing  observation.  If  the 
General  Government  had  the  power  to  cede  the  public 
lauds  to  the  new  States  for  particular  purposes,  and 
on  prescribed  conditions,  its  power  must  be  unques- 
tionable to  make  some  reservations  for  similar  pur- 
poses in  behalf  of  the  old  States.  Its  power  cannot 
be  without  limit  as  to  the  new  States,  and  circum- 
scribed and  restricted  as  to  the  old.  Its  capacity  to 
bestow  benefits  or  dispense  justice  is  not  coniined  to 
the  new  States,  but  is  co-extensive  with  the  whole 
Union.  It  may  grant  to  all,  or  it  can  grant  to  none. 
And  this  comprehensive  equity  is  not  only  in  con- 
formity with  the  spirit  of  the  cessions  in  the  deeds 
from  the  ceding  States,  but  is  expressly  enjoined  by 
the  terms  of  those  deeds. 

Such  is  the  probable  origin  of  the  pretension  which 
I  have  been  tracing;  and  now  let  us  examine  its 
nature  and  foundation.  The  argument  in  behalf  of 
the  new  States,  is  founded  on  the  notion,  'that  as  the 
old  States,  upon  coming  out  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  had  or  churned  a  right  to  all  the  lands  within 
their  respective  limits,  and  as  the  new  States  have 
been  admitted  into  the  Union  on  the  same  footing 
and  condition  in  all  respects  with  the  old,  therefore 
they  are  entitled  to  all  the  waste  lands  embraced 
within  their  boundaries.  But  the  argument  forgets 
that  all  the  revolutionary  States  had  not  wastelands; 
that  some  had  very  little,  and  others  none.  It  for- 
gets that  the  right  of  the  States  to  the  waste  lauds 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  373 

within  their  limits  was  controverted  ;  and  that  it  was 
insisted  that,  as  they  hud  been  conquered  in  a  common 
war,  waged  with  common  means,  and  attended  with 
general  sacrifices,  the  public  lands  should  be  held  for 
the  common  benefit  of  all  the  States.  It  forgets  that 
in  consequence  of  this  right  asserted  in  behalf  of  the 
whole  Union,  the  States  that  contained  any  large 
bodies  of  waste  lands  (and  Virginia,  particularly,  that 
had  the  most)  ceded  them  to  the  Union  for  the  equal 
benefit  of  all  the  States.  It  forgets  that  the  very 
equality,  which  is  the  basis  of  the  argument,  would 
be  totally  subverted  by  the  admission  of  the  validity 
of  the  pretension.  For  how  would  the  matter  then 
stand?  The  revolutionary  States  will  have  divested 
themselves  of  the  large  districts  of  vacant  lands  which 
they  contained,  for  the  common  benefit  of  all  the 
States;  and  those  same  lands  will  enure  to  the  benefit 
of  the  new  States  exclusively.  There  will  be,  on  the 
supposition  of  the  validity  of  the  pretension,  a  rever- 
sal of  the  condition  of  the  two  classes  of  States.  In- 
stead of  the  old  having,  as  is  alleged,  the  wild  lands 
which  they  included  at  the  epoch  of  the  Revolution, 
they  will  have  none,  and  the  new  States  all.  And 
this  in  the  name  and  for  the  purpose  of  equality 
among  all  the  members  of  the  confederacy!  What, 
especially,  would  be  the  situation  of  Virginia?  She 
magnanimously  ceded  an  empire  in  extent  for  the 
common  benefit.  And  now  it  is  proposed,  not  only  to 
withdraw  that  empire  from  the  object  of  its  solemn 
dedication,  to  the  use  of  all  the  States,  but  to  deny 
her  any  participation  in  it,  and  appropriate  it  exclu- 
sively to  the  benefit  of  the  new  States  carved  out  of  itl 
32 


374  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAT. 

If  the  new  States  had  any  right  to  the  public  lands, 
in  order  to  produce  the  very  equality  contended  for, 
they  ought  forthwith  to  cede  that  right  to  the  Union, 
for  the  common  benefit  of  all  the  States.  Having 
no  such  right,  they  ought  to  acquiesce  cheerfully  in 
an  equality  which  does,  in  fact,  now  exist  between 
them  and  the  old  States. 

The  Committee  of  Manufactures  has  clearly  shown, 
that  if  the  right  were  recognized  in  the  new  States 
now  existing,  to  the  public  lands  within  their  limits, 
each  of  the  new  States,  as  they  might  hereafter  be 
successively  admitted  into  the  Union,  would  have 
the  same  right ;  and  consequently  that  the  pietensioiv 
under  examination  embraces,  in  effect,  the  whole 
public  domain,  that  is,  a  billion  and  eighty  millions 
of  acres  of  land. 

The  right  of  the  Union  to  the  public  lands  is  in- 
contestable. It  ought  not  to  be  considered  debate- 
able.  It  never  was  questioned  but  by  a  few,  whose 
monstrous  heresy,  it  was  probably  supposed,  would 
escape  animadversion  from  the  enormity  of  the  ab- 
surdity, and  the  utter  impracticability  of  the  success 
of  the  claim.  The  right  of  the  whole  is  sealed  by 
the  blood  of  the  Revolution,  founded  upon  solemn 
deeds  of  cession  from  sovereign  States,  deliberately 
executed  in  the  face  of  the  world,  or  resting  upon  na- 
tional treaties  concluded  with  foreign  Powers,  on  am- 
ple equivalents  contributed  from  the  common  treasury 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

This  right  of  the  whole  was  stamped  upon  the  face 
of  the  new  States  at  the  very  instant  of  their  parturi- 
tion. They  admitted  and  recognized  it  with  their 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  375 

first  breath.  They  hold  their  stations,  as  members 
of  the  Confederacy  in  virtue  of  that  admission.  The 
Senators  who  sit  here,  and  the  members  in  the  Ilonse 
of  Representatives  from  the  new  States,  deliberate  in 
Congress  with  other  Senators  and  Representatives, 
under  that  admission.  And,  since  the  new  States 
came  into  being,  they  have  recognized  this  right  of 
the  General  Government  by  innumerable  acts: 

By  their  concurrence  in  the  passage  of  hundreds  of 
laws  respecting  the  public  domain,  founded  upon  the 
incontestable  right  of  the  whole  of  the  States; 

By  repeated  applications  to  extinguish  Indian  titles, 
and  to  survey  the  lands  which  they  covered; 

And  by  solicitation  and  acceptance  of  extensive 
grants  from  the  General  Government,  of  the  public 
lands. 

The  existence  of  the  new  States  is  a  falsehood,  or 
the  right  of  all  the  States  to  the  public  domain  is  an 
undeniable  truth.  They  have  no  more  right  to  the 
public  lands,  within  their  particular  jurisdiction,  than 
otuer  States  have  to  the  mint,  the  forts  and  arsenals, 
or  public  ships  within  theirs,  or  than  the  people  of 
the  District  of  Columbia  have  to  this  magniticent 
Capitol,  in  whose  splendid  halls  we  now  deliberate. 

The  equality  contended  for  between  all  the  States 
now  exists.  The  public  lands  are  now  held,  and 
ought  to  be  held  and  administered,  for  the  common 
benefit  of  all.  I  hope  our  fellow-citizens  of  Illinois, 
Indiana,  and  Missouri,  will  reconsider  the  matter; 
that  they  will  cease  to  take  counsel  from  demagogues 
who  would  deceive  them,  and  instil  erroneous  princi- 
ples into  their  ears;  and  that  they  will  feel  and  ao 


•  376  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

knowledge  that  their  brethren  of  TCentnck}*  and  of 
Ohio,  and  of  all  the  States  in  the  Union,  have  an 
equal  right  with  the  citizens  of  those  three  States  in 
the  public  lands.  If  the  possibility  of  an  event  so 
direful  as  a  severance  of  this  Union  were  for  a  mo- 
ment contemplated,  what  would  he  the  probable  con- 
sequence of  such  an  unspeakable  calamity  ;  if  three 
confederacies  were  formed  out  of  its  fragments,  do 
you  imagine  that  the  western  confederacy  would  con- 
sent to  the  States  including  the  public  lands,  holding 
them  exclusively  for  themselves  ?  Canyon  imagine 
that  the  States  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee, 
\vould  quietly  renounce  their  right  in  all  the  public 
lands  west  of  them  ?  No,  sir!  No,  sir!  They  would 
wade  to  their  knees  in  blood  before  they  would  make 
such  an  unjust  and  ignominious  surrender. 

But  this  pretension,  unjust  to  the  old  States,  un- 
equal as  to  all,  would  be  injurious  to  the  new  States 
themselves,  in  whose  behalf  it  has  been  put  forth,  if 
it  were  recognized.  The  interest  of  the  new  Statr-e 
is  not  confined  to  the  lands  within  their  limits,  but 
extends  to  the  whole  billion  and  eighty  millions  of 
acres.  Sanction  the  claims,  however,  and  they  are 
cut  down  and  restricted  to  that  which  is  included  in 
their  own  boundaries.  Is  it  not  better  for  Ohio,  in- 
stead of  the  five  millions  and  a  half  for  Indiana,  in- 
stead of  the  fifteen  millions  —  or  even  for  Illinois, 
instead  of  the  thirty-one  or  thirty-two  millions  —  or 
Missouri,  instead  of  the  thirty-eight  millions — within 
their  respective  limits,  to  retain  their  interest  in  those 
beveral  quantities,  and  also  retain  their  interest,  in 
common  with  the  other  members  of  the  Union,  in  the 


OX    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  377 

countless  millions  of  acres  that  lie  west,  or  north-west, 
beyond  them  ! 

I  will  now  proceed,  Mr.  President,  to  consider  the 
expediency  of  a  reduction  of  the  price  of  the  public 
lands,,  and  the  reasons  assigned  by  the  Land  Com- 
mittee, in  their  report,  in  favor  of  that  measure. 
They  are  presented  there  in  formidable  detail,  and 
spread  out  under  seven  different  heads.  Let  ns  exa- 
mine them:  the  first  is,  "because  the  new  States 
have  a  clear  right  to  participate  in  the  benefits  of  a 
reduction  of  the  revenue  to  the  wants  of  the  Govern- 
ment, by  getting  the  reduction  extended  to  the  article 
of  revenue  chiefly  used  by  them."  Here  is  a  renewal 
of  the  attempt  made  early  in  the  session  to  confound 
the  public  lands  with  foreign  imports,  which  was  so 
successfully  exposed  and  refuted  by  the  report  of  the 
Committee  of  Manufactures.  Will  not  the  new  StJiK-s 
participate  in  any  reduction  of  the  revenue,  in  com- 
mon with  the  old  States,  without  touching  the  pub- 
lic lands?  As  far  as  they  are  consumers  of  objects 
of  foreign  imports,  will  they  not  equally  share  the 
benefit  with  the  old  States?  "What  right,  over  and 
a':>ove  that  equal  participation,  have  the  new  States 
to  a  reduction  of  the  price  of  the  public  lands?  As 
/States,  what  right,  much  less  what  "  clear  right," 
have  they  to  any  such  reduction  ?  In  their  sovereign 
or  corporate  capacities,  what  right?  Have  not  all 
the  stipulations  between  them,  a*  State*,  and  the 
General  Government,  been  fully  complied  with  ? 
Have  the  people  within  the  new  States,  considered 
distinct  from  the  States  themselves,  any  right  to  such 
reduction  ?  Whence  is  it  derived  ?  They  went  there 
32* 


378  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

in  pursuit  of  their  own  happiness.  They  bought 
hinds  from  the  public  because  it  was  their  interest  to 
make  the  purchase,  and  they  enjoy  them.  Did  they, 
because  they  purchased  some  land,  which  they  pos- 
sess peacefully,  acquire  any,  and  what  right,  in  tho 
land  which  they  did  not  buy  ?  But  it  may  be  argued 
that,  by  settling  and  improving  these  lands,  the  adja- 
cent public  lands  are  enhanced  in  value.  True;  and 
so  are  their  own.  The  enhanced  value  of  the  public 
lands  was  not  a  consequence  which  they  went  there 
to  produce,  but  was  a  collateral  effect,  as  to  which 
the}'  were  passive.  The  public  does  not  seek  to  avail 
itself  of  this  augmentation  in  value,  by  augmenting 
the  price.  It  leaves  that  where  it  was;  and  the  de- 
mand for  reduction  is  made  in  behalf  of  those  who 
say  their  labor  has  increased  the  value  of  the  public 
lands,  and  the  claim  to  reduction  is  founded  upon 
the  fact  of  enhanced  value!  The  public,  like  all 
other  landholders,  had  a  right  to  anticipate  that  the 
sale  of  a  part  would  communicate,  incidentally,  greater 
value  to  the  residue.  And,  like  all  other  land  "pro- 
prietors, it  has  the  right  to  ask  more  for  that  residue, 
but  it  does  not ;  and  for  one,  I  should  be  as  unwill- 
ing to  disturb  the  existing  price  by  augmentation  as 
by  reduction.  But  the  public  lands  is  the  article  of 
revenue  which  the  people  of  the  new  States  chieiiy 
consume.  In  another  part  of  this  report  liberal  grants 
of  the  public  lands  are  recommended,  and  the  idea 
of  holding  the  public  lands  as  a  source  of  revenue  is 
scouted,  because  it  is  said  that  more  revenue  could  be 
collected  from  the  settlers  as  consumers,  than  from 
the  lauds,  llere  it  seems  that  the  public  lauds  are 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  879 

the  articles  of  revenue  chiefly  consumed  by  the  new 
States. 

With  respect  to  lands  yet  to  be  sold,  they  arc  open 
to  the  purchase  alike  of  emigrants  from  the  old  States, 
and  settlers  in  the  new.  As  the  latter  have  riune 
generally  supplied  themselves  with  lands,  the  proba- 
bility is,  that  the  emigrants  are  more  interested  in  the 
question  of  reduction  than  the  settlers.  At  all 
events,  there  can  be  no  peculiar  right  to  such  reduc- 
tion existing  in  the  new  States.  It  is  a  question 
common  to  all,  and  to  be  decided  with  reference  to 
the  interest  of  the  whole  Union. 

"2.  Because,  the  public  debt  being  now  paid,  the 
public  lands  are  entirely  released  from  the  pledge 
they  were  under  to  that  object,  and  are  free  to  receive 
a  new  and  liberal  destination,  for  the  relief  of  the  States 
in  which  they  lie." 

The  payment  of  the  public  debt  is  conceded  to  be 
near  at  hand  ;  and  it  is  admitted  that  the  public  lands, 
being  liberated,  may  now  receive  a  new  and  liberal 
destination.  Such  an  appropriation  of  their  proceeds 
is  proposed  by  the  bill  reported  by  the  Committee  of 
Manufactures,  and  which  I  shall  hereafter  call  the  at- 
tention of  the  Senate  more  particularly  to.  But  it 
did  not  seem  just  to  that  committee,  that  this  new 
and  liberal  destination  of  them  should  be  restricted 
"for  the  relief  of  the  States  in  which  they  lie"  ex- 
clusively, but  should  extend  to  all  the  States  indis- 
criminatety,  upon  principles  of  equitable  distribution. 

"3.  Because,  nearly  one  hundred  millions  of  acrea 
of  the  land  now  in  market  are  the  refuse  of  sales  and 
donations,  through  a  long  series  of  years,  and  are  of 


880  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

very  little  actnnl  value,  ond  only  lit  to  be  given  to 
settlors,  or  abandoned  to  the  States  in  which  tbey  lie." 

According  to  an  official  statement,  the  total  quan- 
tity of  public  land  \vbieli  lias  been  surveyed  up  to  tbe 
81st  of  December  last,  was  a  little  upward  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty-two  millions  of  acres.  Of  this  a 
large  proportion  —  perhaps  even  more  than  the  one 
hundred  millions  of  acres  stated  in  the  land  report — 
has  been  a  long  time  in  market.  The  entire  quan- 
tity which  has  ever  been  sold  by  the  United  States, 
up  to  the  same  day,  after  deducting  lands  relinquished 
and  lands  reverted  to  the  United  States,  according  to 
an  official  statement  also,  is  twenty-five  millions,  two 
hundred  forty-two  thousand,  five  hundred  and  ninety 
acres.  Thus,  after  the  lapse  of  thirty-six  years, 
during  which  the  present  land  system  has  been  in 
operation,  a  little  more  than  twenty-five  millions  of 
acres  have  been  sold,  not  averaging  a  million  per 
annum,  and  upward  of  one  hundred  millions  of  the 
surveyed  lands  remain  to  be  sold.  The  argument  of 
the  report  of  the  land  committee  assumes  that  "  nearly 
one  hundred  millions  are  the  refuse  of  sales  and  dona- 
tions." are  of  very  little  actual  value,  and  only  fit  to 
be  given  to  settlers,  or  abandoned  to  the  States  iu 
which  they  lie. 

Mr.  President,  let  us  define  as  we  go  —  let  us  ana- 
lyze. What  do  the  land  committee  mean  by  "  refuse 
land"?  Do  they  mean  worthless,  inferior,  rejected 
land,  which  nobody  will  buy  at  the  present  govern- 
ment, price  ?  Let  us  look  at  facts,  and  make  them  our 
guide.  The  government  is  constantly  pressed  by  the 
new  States  to  briug  more  and  more  lands  into  the 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  381 

market;  to  extinguish  more  Indian  titles;  to  survey 
more.  The  new  States  themselves  are  probably  urged 
to  operate  upon  the  General  Government  by  immi- 
grants and  settlers,  who  see  still  before  them,  in  their 
progress  west,  other  new  lands  which  they  desire. 
The  General  Government  yields  to  the  solicitation. 
It  throws  more  land  into  the  market,  and  it  is  an- 
nually and  daily  preparing  additional  surveys  of  fresh 
lands.  It  has  thrown,  and  is  preparing  to  throw,  open 
to  purchasers  already,  one  hundred  and  sixty-two 
millions  of  acres.  And  now,  because  the  capacity  to 
purchase,  in  its  nature  limited  by  the  growth  of  our 
population,  is  totally  incompetent  to  absorb  this  im- 
mense quantity,  the  Government  is  called  upon,  by 
some  of  the  very  persons  who  urged  the  exposition 
of  this  vast  amount  to  sale,  to  consider  all  that  re- 
mains unsold  as  refuse!  Twenty -five  millions  in 
thirty-six  years  only  are  sold,  and  all  the  rest  is  to  be 
looked  upon  as  refuse.  Is  this  right?  If  there  had 
been  live  hundred  millions  in  market,  there  probably 
would  not  have  been  more,  or  much  more,  sold.  But 
I  deny  the  correctness  of  the  conclusion  that  it  is 
worthless  because  not  sold.  It  is  not  sold  because 
there  were  not  people  to  buy  it.  You  must  have  gone 
to  other  countries,  to  other  worlds,  to  the  moon,  and 
drawn  thence  people  to  buy  the  prodigious  quantity 
which  you  offered  to  sell. 

liefuse  land !  A  purchaser  goes  to  a  district  of 
country  and  buys  out  of  a  township  a  section  which 
strikes  his  fancy,  lie  exhausts  his  money.  Others 
might  have  pieferred  other  sections.  Other  sections 
may  even  be  better  than  his.  He  can  with  110  more 


382  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

propriety  be  said  to  have  "refused"  or  rejected  all 
the  other  sections,  than  a  man  who,  attracted  by  the 
beauty,  charms,  and  accomplishments  of  a  particular 
lady,  marries  her,  can  be  said  to  have  rejected  or  re- 
fused all  the  rest  of  the  sex. 

Is  it  credible  that  out  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  or 
one  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  acres  of  land  in  a 
valley  celebrated  for  its  fertility,  there  are  only  about 
twenty-five  millions  of  acres  of  good  hind,  and  that 
all  the  rest  is  refuse?  Take  the  State  of  Illinois  as 
nn  example.  Of  all  the  States  in  the  Union,  that 
State  probably  contains  the  greatest  proportion  of 
rich,  fertile  lands  —  more  than  Ohio,  more  than  Indi- 
ana, abounding  as  they  both  do  in  fine  lands.  Of  the 
thirty-three  and  a  half  millions  of  public  lands  in 
Illinois,  a  little  more  than  two  millions  have  been 
sold.  Is  the  residue  of  thirty-one  millions  all  refuse 
land?  "Who,  that  is  acquainted  in  the  West,  can 
assert  or  believe  it?  No,  sir;  there  is  no  such  thing. 
The  unsold  lands  are  unsold  because  of  the  reason* 
already  assigned.  Doubtless  there  is  much  inferioi 
land  remaining,  but  a  vast  quantity  of  the  best  of 
lands  also.  For  its  timber,  soil,  water-power,  grazing, 
minerals,  almost  all  land  possesses  a  certain  value. 
If  the  lands  unsold  are  refuse  and  worthless  in  the 
hands  of  the  General  Government,  why  are  they 
sought  after  with  so  much  avidity?  If  in  our  hands 
tli'Ov  aie  good  for  nothing,  what  more  would  they  be 
worth  in  the  hands  of  the  new  States?  "Only  fit  to 
be  given  to  settlers!"  What  settlers  would  thank 
yon  ?  what  settlers  would  not  scorn  a  gift  of  refuse* 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  383 

worthless  land?  If  you  mean  to  be  generous,  give 
them  what  is  valuable;  be  manly  in  your  generosity. 

But  let  us  examine  a  little  closer  this  idea  of  refuse 
land.  If  there  be  any  State  in  which  it  is  found  in 
large  quantities,  that  State  would  be  Ohio.  It  is  the 
oldest  of  the  new  States.  There  the  public  lands 
have  remained  longer  exposed  in  the  market.  But 
there  we  find  only  five  and  a  half  millions  to  be  sold. 
And  I  hold  in  my  hand  an  account  of  sales  in  the 
Zanesville  district,  one  of  the  oldest  in  that  State, 
made  during  the  present  year.  It  is  in  a  paper  enti- 
tled the  "Ohio  Republican,"  published  at  Zanesville, 
the  26th  May,  1832.  The  article  is  headed  "  Refuse 
Land,"  and  it  states: 

"It  has  suited  the  interest  of  some  to  represent  the 
lands  of  the  United  States  which  have  remained  in 
market  for  many  years,  as  mere  '  refuse'  which  can- 
not be  sold ;  and  to  urge  a  rapid  reduction  of  price, 
and  the  cession  of  the  residue  in  a  short  period  to  the 
States  in  which  they  are  situated.  It  is  strongly 
urged  against  this  plan  that  it  is  a  speculating  project, 
which,  by  alienating  a  large  quantity  of  land  from 
the  United  States,  will  cause  a  great  increase  of  price 
to  actual  settlers  in  a  few  years  —  instead  of  their 
being  able  for  ever,  as  it  may  be  said  in  the  case 
under  the  present  system  of  land  sales,  to  obtain  a 
farm  at  a  reasonable  price.  To  show  how  far  the 
lands  unsold  are  from  being  worthless,  we  copy  from 
the  'Gazette'  the  following  statement  of  recent  sales 
in  the  Zanesville  district,  one  of  the  oldest  districts 
in  the  West.  The  sales  at  the  Zanesville  land-office 
since  the  commencement  of  the  present  year  have 


384  S  P  E  E  C  II  E  ?     OF    HENRY    C  L  A  T. 

been  as  follows:  January,  $7.120  80;  February, 
§8,642  67;  March,  f  11,744  75;  April,  $9,209  19;  and 
since  the  first  of  tli«  present  month  about  $9,000 
worth  have  been  sold,  more  than  half  of  which  were 
in  forty-acre  lots." 

And  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  the  act  passed  at 
this  season,  authorizing  sales  of  forty  acres,  will,  from 
the  desire  to  make  additions  to  farms,  and  to  settle 
young  members  of  families,  increase  the  sales  very 
much,  at  least  during  this  year. 

A  friend  of  mine  in  this  city  bought  in  Illinois,  last 
fall,  about  two  thousand  acres  of  this  refuse  land,  at 
the  minimum  price,  for  which  he  has  lately  refused 
six  dollars  per  acre.  An  officer  of  this  body,  now  in 
my  eye,  purchased  a  small  tract  of  this  same  refuse 
land  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  at  second  or 
third  hand,  entered  a  few  years  ago,  and  which  is  now 
estimated  at  nineteen  hundred  dollars.  It  is  a  busi- 
ness, a  very  profitable  business,  at  which  fortunes  arc 
made  in  the  new  States,  to  purchase  these  refuse 
lands,  and,  without  improving  them,  to  sell  them  at 
large  advances. 

Far  from  being  discouraged  by  the  fact  of  so  much 
surveyed  public  land  remaining  unsold,  we  should 
rejoice  that  this  bountiful  resource,  possessed  by  our 
country,  remains  in  almost  undirninished  quantity, 
notwithstanding  so  many  new  and  flourishing  States 
have  sprung  up  in  the  wilderness,  and  so  many  thou- 
sands of  families  have  been  accommodated.  It  might 
be  otherwise  if  the  public  lands  were  dealt  out  by 
Government  with  a  sparing,  grudging,  griping  hand. 
But  they  are  liberally  ottered,  in  exhuustlcss  quunti- 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  885 

ties,  and  at  moderate  prices,  enriching  individuals, 
and  tending  to  the  rapid  improvement  of  the  country. 
The  two  important  foots  brought  forward  and  em- 
phatically dwelt  on  by  the  Committee  of  Manufac- 
tures stand  in  their  full  force,  unaffected  by  anything 
stated  in  the  report  of  the  Land  Committee.     These 
facts  must  carry  conviction  to  every  unbiased  mind 
that  will  deliberately  consider  them.    The  iirst  is,  the 
rapid  increase  of  the  new  States,  far  outstripping  tho 
old,  averaging  annually  an  increase  of  eight  and  a 
half  per  cent.,  and  doubling,  of  course,   in  twelve 
years.     One  of  these  States,  Illinois,  full  of  refuse 
land,  increasing  at  the  rate  of  eighteen  and  a  half 
percent!    Would  this  astonishing  growth  take  place 
if  the  lands  were  too  high,  or  all  the  good  land  sold? 
The  other  fact  is,  the  vast  increase  in  the  annual  sales: 
in  1830,  rising  of  three  millions.    Since  the  report  of 
the   Committee  of  Manufactures,   the   returns  have 
come  in  of  the  sales  of  last  year,  which  had  been 
estimated   at   three   millions.      They  were,  in  fact, 
$3,566,127  94!     Their  progressive  increase  baffles  all 
calculation.    Would  this  happen  if  the  price  were  too 
high  ? 

It  is  argued  that  the  value  of  different  townships 
and  sections  is  various,  and  that  it  is  there-fore  wrong 
to  fix  the  same  price  for  all.  The  variety  in  the  qua- 
lity, situation,  and  advantages  of  different  tracts,  is 
no  doubt  great.  After  the  adoption  of  any  system 
of  classification,  there  would  still  remain  very  great 
diversity  in  the  tracts  belonging  to  the  same  class. 
This  is  the  law  of  nature.  The  presumption  of  infe- 
riority, and  of  refuse  land,  founded  upon  the  length 
33  z'  " 


886  SPEECHES     OF     HENRY    CLAT. 

of  time  that  the  land  lias  been  in  market,  is  denied, 
for  reasons  already  stated.     The  oft'er,  at  public  auc- 
tion, of  all  lands  to  the  highest  bidder,  previous  to 
their  being  sold  at  private  sale,  provides  in  some  de- 
gree for  the  variety  in  the  value,  since  each  purchaser 
pushes  the  land  up  to  the  price  which,  according  to 
his  opinion,  it  ought  to  command.     But  if  the  price 
demanded  by  Government  is   not  too  high  for  the 
good  land  (and  no  one  can  believe  it),  why  not  wait 
until  that  is  sold  before  an}-  reduction  in  the  price  of 
the  bad?     And  that  will  not  be  sold  for  many  years 
to  come.     It  would  be  quite  as  wrong  to  bring  the 
price  of  good  land  down  to  the  standard  of  the  bad, 
as  it  is  alleged  to  be  to  carry  the  latter  up  to  that  of 
the  former.    Until  the  good  land  is  sold  there  will  be 
no  purchasers  of  the  bad  ;  for,  as  has  been  stated  in 
the  report  of  the  Committee  of  Manufactures,  a  dis- 
creet farmer  would  rather  give  a  dollar  and  a  quarter 
per  acre  for  tirst-rate  land  than  accept  refuse  and 
worthless  land  as  a  present. 

"4.  Because  the  speedy  extinction  of  the  Federal 
title  within  their  limits  is  necessary  to  the  independ- 
ence of  the  new  States,  to  their  equality  with  the  elder 
States;  to  the  development  of  their  resources;  to  the 
subjection  of  their  soil  to  taxation,  cultivation,  and  set- 
tlement, and  to  the  proper  enjoyment  of  their  jurisdic- 
tion and  sovereignty." 

All  this  is  mere  assertion  and  declamation.  The 
General  Government,  at  a  moderate  price,  is  selling 
the  public  land  as  fast  as  it  can  find  purchasers.  The 
new  States  are  populating  with  unexampled  rapidity; 
their  condition  is  now  much  more  eligible  than  that 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  837 

of  some  of  the  old  States.     Ohio,  I  am  sorry  to  be 
obliged  to  confess,  is,  in  internal  improvement  and 
some  other  respects,  fifty  years  in   advance   of  her 
elder  sister  and  neighbor,  Kentucky.     How  have  her 
growth  and  prosperity,  her  independence,  her  equality 
with  the  elder  States,  the  development  of  her  resour- 
ces, the  taxation,  cultivation,  and  settlement  of  her 
soil,  or  the  proper  enjoyment  of  her  jurisdiction  and 
sovereignly,  been  affected  or  impaired  by  the  Federal 
title  within  her  limits?     The  Federal  title?     It  has 
been  a  source  of  blessings  and  of  bounties,  but  not 
one  of  real  grievance.     As  to  the  exemption   from 
taxation  of  the  public  lands,  and  the  exemption  for 
five  years  of  those  sold  to  individuals,  if  the  public 
land  belonged  to  the  new  States,  would  they  tax  it? 
And  as  to  the  latter  exemption,  it  is  paid  for  by  the 
General  Government,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to 
the  compacts;  and  it  is,  moreover,  beneficial  to  the 
new  States  themselves,  by  holding  out  a  motive  to 
emigrants  to  purchase  and  settle  within  their  limits. 

''6.  Because  the  ramified  machinery  of  the  land 
oflice  department,  and  the  ownership  of  so  much  soil, 
extends  the  patronage  and  authority  of  the  Generaj 
Government  into  the  heart  and  corners  of  the  ne\» 
States,  and  subjects  their  policy  to  the  danger  of  a 
foreign  and  powerful  influence." 

A  foreign  and  powerful  influence!  The  Federal 
Government  a  foreign  government!  And  the  exer- 
cise of  a  legitimate  control  over  the  national  property, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  people  of  the  United 
States,  a  deprecated  penetration  into  the  heart  and 
corners  of  the  new  States  1  As  to  the  calamity  of  the 


SPEECHES    OF    IIEKHT    CLAT. 

land  offices  which  are  held  within  them,  I  helicve  that 
is  not  regarded  by  the  people  of  those  States  with 
quite  as  much  horror  as  it  is  by  the  land  committee. 
They  justly  consider  that  they  ought  to  hold  those 
offices  themselves,  and  that  no  persons  ought  to  be 
sent  from  the  other  foreign  States  of  this  Union  to 
fill  them.  And  if  the  number  of  the  offices  were  in- 
creased, it  would  not  be  looked  upon  by  them  as  a 
grievous  addition  to  the  calamity. 

But  what  do  the  land  committee  mean  l>\  the  au- 
thority of  this  foreign,  Federal  Government?  Surely 
they  do  not  desire  to  get  rid  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. And  yet  the  final  settlement  of  the  land  ques- 
tion will  have  effected  but  little  in  expelling  its  au- 
thority from  the  bosoms  of  the  new  States.  Its  action 
will  still  remain  in  a  thousand  forms,  and  the  heart 
and  corners  of  the  new  States  will  still  be  invaded  by 
post-offices  and  postmasters,  and  post-roads,  and  the 
Cumberland  road,  and  various  other  modifications  of 
its  power. 

"Because  the  sum  of  $425,000,000  proposed  to  be 
drawn  from  the  new  States  and  Territories,  by  the 
sale  of  their  soil,  at  $1  25  per  acre,  is  unconscionable 
and  impracticable  —  such  as  never  can  be  paid  —  and 
the  bare  attempt  to  raise  which,  must  drain,  exhaust, 
and  impoverish  these  States,  and  give  birth  to  the 
feelings  which  a  sense  of  injustice  and  oppression 
never  fail  to  excite,  and  the  excitement  of  which 
should  be  so  carefully  avoided  in  a  confederacy  of 
free  States." 

In  another  part  of  their  report,  the  committee  say, 
speaking  of  the  immense  revenue  alleged  to  be  do 


ON    THE     PUBLIC    LANDS.  389 

rivable  from  the  public  lands  :  "  This  ideal  revenue  is 
estimated  at  $425,000,000  for  the  lands  now  within 
the  limits  of  the  States  and  Territories,  and  at 
$1, 362,589,691  for  the  whole  Federal  domain.  Such 
chimerical  calculations  preclude  the  propriety  of  ar- 
gumentative answers."  Well,  if  these  calculations 
are  all  chimerical,  there  is  no  danger,  from  the  pre- 
servation of  the  existing  land  system,  of  draining, 
exhausting,  and  impoverishing  the  new  States,  and 
of  exciting  them  to  rebellion. 

The  Manufacturing  Committee  did  not  state  what 
the  public  lands  would,  in  fact,  produce.  They  could 
not  state  it.  It  is  hardly  a  subject  of  approximate 
estimate.  The  committee  stated  what  would  be  the 
proceeds,  estimated  by  the  minimum  price  of  the 
public  lands;  what,  at  one-half  of  that  price;  and 
added  that,  although  there  might  be  much  land  that 
would  never  sell  at  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  acre, 
"as  fresh  lands  are  brought  into  market  and  exposed 
to  sale  at  auction,  many  of  them  sell  at  prices  exceed- 
ing one  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  acre."  They  con- 
cluded by  remarking  that  the  least,  favorable  view  of 
regarding  them  was  to  consider  them  a  capital  yield- 
ing an  annuity  of  three  millions  of  dollars  at  this 
time;  that  in  a  few  years  that  annuity  would  pro- 
bably be  doubled,  and  that  the  capital  might  then  be 
assumed  as  equal  to  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 

Whatever  may  be  the  sum  drawn  from  the  sales  of 
the  public  lands,  it  will  be  contributed,  not  by  citi- 
zens of  the  States  alone  in  which  they  are  situated, 
but  by  emigrants  from  all  the  States.  And  it  will  be 
raised,  not  in  a  single  year,  but  in  a  long  series  of 
33* 


890  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

years.  It  would  have  been  impossible  for  the  State 
of  Ohio  to  have  paid,  in  one  year,  the  millions  that 
have  been  raised  in  that  State  by  the  sale  of  public 
lands  ;  but  in  a  period  of  upward  of  thirty  years  the 
payment  has  been  made,  not  only  without  impoverish- 
ing, but  with  constantly  increasing  prosperity  to  the 
State. 

Such,  Mr.  President,  are  the  reasons  of  the  land 
committee  for  the  reduction  of  the  price  of  the  public 
lands.  Some  of  them  had  been  anticipated  and  re- 
futed in  the  report  of  the  Manufacturing  Committee; 
and  I  hope  that  I  have  now  shown  the  insolidity  of 
the  residue. 

I  will  not  dwell  upon  the  consideration  urged  in 
that  report  against  any  large  reduction,  founded  upon 
its  inevitable  tendency  to  lessen  the  value  of  the 
landed  property  throughout  the  Union,  and  that  in 
the  Western  States  especially.  That  such  would  be  the 
necessary  consequence,  no  man  can  doubt  who  will 
seriously  reflect  upon  such  a  measure  as  that  of  throw- 
ing into  market,  immediate!}',  upward  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  millions  of  acres,  and  at  no  distant  period 
upward  of  two  hundred  millions  more,  at  greatly-re- 
duced rates. 

If  the  honorable  Chairman  of  the  Land  Committee 
(Mr.  King)  had  relied  upon  his  own  sound  practical 
sense,  he  would  have  presented  a  report  far  less  ob- 
jectionable than  that  which  he  has  made.  He  has 
availed  himself  of  another's  aid,  and  the  hand  of  the 
Senator  from  Missouri  (Mr.  Benton)  is  as  visible  in 
the  composition  as  if  his  name  had  been  subscribed 
to  the  instrument.  We  hear,  again,  in  this  paper,  of 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  391 

that  which  \vc  have  so  often  heard  repeated  before  in 
debate  by  the  Senator  from  Missouri  —  the  senti- 
ments of  Edmund  Burke.  And  what  was  the  state 
of  things  iu  England  to  which  these  sentiments  were 
applied? 

England  has  too  little  land  and  too  man}-  people. 
America  has  too  much  land,  for  the  present  popula- 
tion of  the  country,  and  wants  people.  The  British 
Crown  had  owned,  for  many  generations,  large  bodies 
of  land,  preserved  for  game  and  forest,  from  which 
but  small  revenues  were  derived.  It  was  pro- 
posed to  sell  out  the  Crown  lands,  that  they  might 
be  peopled  and  cultivated,  and  that  the  royal  family 
should  be  placed  on  the  civil  list.  Mr.  Burke  sup- 
ported the  proposition  by  convincing  arguments. 
But  what  analogy  is  there  between  the  Crown  lands 
of  the  British  sovereign  and  the  public  lands  of  the 
United  States  ?  Are  the}'  here  locked  up  from  the 
people,  and,  for  the  sake  of  their  game  or  timber,  ex- 
cluded from  sale?  Are  not  they  freely  exposed  in 
market,  to  all  who  want  them,  at  moderate  prices  ? 
The  complaint  is  that  they  are  not  sold  fast  enough 
—  in  other  words,  that  people  are  not  multiplied 
rapidly  enough  to  buy  them.  Patience,  gentlemen 
of  the  Laud  Committee,  patience !  The  new  States 
are  daily  rising  in  power  and  fmportance.  Some  of 
them  are  already  great  and  nourishing  members  of 
the  Confederacy.  And,  if  you  will  only  acquiesce 
in  the  certain  and  quiet  operation  of  the  laws  of 
God  and  man,  the  wilderness  will  quickly  teem  with 
people,  and  be  tilled  with  the  monuments  of  civiliza- 
tion. 


892  SPEECHES     OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

The  report  of  the  Land  Committee  proceeds  to  no- 
tice, and  to  animadvert  upon,  certain  opinions  of  a 
lute  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  contained  in  his  an- 
nual report,  and  endeavors  to  connect  them  with 
some  sentiments  expressed  in  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Manufactures.  That  report  has  before  been 
the  subject  of  repeated  commentary  in  the  Senate,  by 
the  Senator  from  Missouri,  and  of  much  misrepresen- 
tation and  vituperation  in  the  public  press.  Mr. 
Rush  showed  me  the  rough  draught  of  that  report, 
and  I  advised  him  to  expunge  the  paragraphs  in 
question,  because  I  foresaw  that  they  would  be  mis- 
represented, and  that  he  would  be  exposed  to  unjust 
accusations.  But,  knowing  the  purity  of  his  inten- 
tions, believing  in  the  soundness  of  the  views  which 
he  presented,  and  confiding  in  the  candor  of  a  just 
public,  lie  resolved  to  retain  the  paragraphs.  I  can- 
not suppose  the  Senator  from  Missouri  ignorant  of 
what  passed  between  Mr.  Rush  and  me,  and  of  his 
having,  against  my  suggestions,  retained  the  para- 
graphs in  question,  because  these  facts  were  all 
stated  by  Mr.  Rush  himself,  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
a  late  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  re 
presenting  the  district  in  which  I  reside,  which  letter, 
more  than  a  year  ago,  was  published  in  the  Western 
papers. 

I  shall  say  nothing  in  defence  of  myself — nothing 
to  disprove  the  charge  of  my  cherishing  unfriendly 
feelings  and  sentiments  toward  any  part  of  the  West. 
If  the  public  acts  in  which  I  have  participated,  if  the 
uniform  tenor  of  my  whole  life,  will  not  refute  such 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  393 

f»n  imputation,  nothing  that  I  could  here  say  would 
refute  it 

But  I  ic ill  say  something  in  defence  of  the  opinions 
of  my  late  patriotic  and  enlightened  colleague,  not 
here  to  speak  for  himself;  and  I  will  vindicate  hia 
official  opinions  from  the  erroneous  glosses  and  inter- 
pretations which  have  been  put  upon  them. 

Mr.  Hush,  in  an  official  report  which  will  long  re- 
main a  monument  of  his  ability,  was  surveying,  with 
a  statesman's  eye,  the  condition  of  America.  He  was 
arguing  in  favor  of  the  Protective  Policy  —  the  Ame- 
rican System.  He  spoke  of  the  limited  vocations  of 
our  society,  and  the  expediency  of  multiplying  the 
means  of  increasing  subsistence,  comfort,  and  wealth. 
He  noticed  the  great  and  the  constatit  tendency  of 
our  fellow-citizens  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  the 
want  of  a  market  for  their  surplus  produce,  the  inex- 
pediency of  all  blindly  rushing  to  the  same  universal 
employment,  and  the  policy  of  dividing  ourselves  into 
various  pursuits.  He  says  : 

"The  manner  in  which  the  remote  lands  of  the 
United  States  are  selling  and  settling,  while  it  possi- 
bly may  tend  to  increase  more  quickly  the  aggregate 
population  of  the  country,  and  the  mere  means  of 
subsistence,  does  not  increase  capital  in  the  same  pro- 
portion. .  .  .  Anything  that  may  serve  to  hold 
back  this  tendency  to  diffusion  from  running  too  far 
and  too  long  into  an  extreme,  can  scarcely  prove  other- 
wise than  sal  titan-.  ...  If  the  population  of 
these  (a  majority  of  the  States,  including  some  West- 
ern States),  not  yet  redundant  in  fact,  though  appear- 
ing to  be  so,  under  this  legislative  incitement  to  emi- 


394  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAT. 

grate,  remain  fixed  in  more  instances,  as  it  probably 
would  be  by  extending  tbe  motives  to  manufacturing 
labor,  it  is  believed  tliat  tbe  nation  would  gain  in 
two  ways:  first,  by  tbe  more  rapid  accumulation  of 
capital ;  and  next,  by  tbe  gradual  reduction  of  tbe 
excess  of  its  agricultural  population  over  tbat  engaged 
in  otber  vocations.  It  is  not  imagined  tbat  it  evei 
would  be  practicable,  even  if  it  were  desirable,  to  turn 
tbis  stream  of  emigration  aside;  but  resources,  opened 
tb rough  tbe  influence  of  tbe  laws,  in  new  fields  of  in- 
dustry, to  tbe  inhabitants  of  the  States  already  suffi- 
ciently peopled  to  enter  upon  them,  might  operate  to 
lessen  in  some  degree,  and  usefully  lessen,  its  absorb- 
ing force." 

Now,  Mr.  President,  what  is  there  in  this  view  ad- 
verse to  the  West,  or  unfavorable  to  its  interests? 
Mr.  Rush  is  arguing  on  tbe  tendency  of  the  people  to 
engage  in  agriculture,  and  the  incitement  to  emigra- 
tion produced  by  our  laws.  Does  he  propose  to 
change  those  la\vs  in  that  particular?  Does  he  pro- 
pose any  new  measure?  So  far  from  suggesting  any 
alteration  of  the  conditions  on  which  tbe  public  lands 
are  sold,  lie  expressly  says  that  it  is  not  desirable,  if 
it  were  practicable,  to  turn  this  stream  of  emigration 
aside.  Leaving  all  the  la\vs  in  full  force,  and  all  the 
motives  to  emigration,  arising  from  fertile  and  cheap 
lands,  untouched,  he  recommends  the  encouragement 
of  a  new  branch  of  business,  in  which  all  the  U:iion, 
the  West  as  well  as  the  rest,  is  interested  ;  thus  pre- 
senting an  option  to  population  to  engage  in  manu- 
factures or  in  agriculture,  at  its  own  discretion.  And 

o  * 

d  w  iuch  an  option  afford  just  ground  of  complaint 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  395 

to  any  one?  Is  it  not  an  advantage  to  all  ?  Do  the 
Land  Committee  desire  (I  am  sure  they  do  not)  to 
create  starvation  in  one  part  of  the  Union,  that  emi- 
grants may  be  forced  into  another?  If  they  do  not, 
they  ought  not  to  condemn  a  multiplication  of  hu- 
man employments,  by  which,  as  its  certain  conse- 
quence, there  will  be  an  increase  in  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence and  comfort.  The  objection  to  Mr.  Rush, 
then,  is,  that  he  looked  at  his  whole  country,  and  at 
all  parts  of  it;  and  that,  while  he  desired  the  prospe- 
rity and  growth  of  the  West  to  advance  undisturbed, 
he  wished  to  build  up,  on  deep  foundations,  the  wel- 
fare of  all  the  people. 

Mr.  Rush  knew  that  there  were  thousands  of  the 
poorer  classes  who  never  would  emigrate;  and  that 
emigration,  under  the  best  auspices,  was  far  from 
being  unattended  with  evil.  There  are  moral,  phy- 
sical, pecuniary  obstacles  to  all  emigration  ;  and  these 
will  increase  as  the  good  vacant  lands  of  the  West 
are  removed,  by  intervening  settlements,  further  ami 
further  from  society,  as  it  is  now  located.  It  is,  I 
believe,  Dr.  Johnson,  who  pronounces  that  of  all 
vegetable  and  animal  creation,  man  is  the  most  diffi- 
cult to  be  uprooted  and  transferred  to  a  distant  coun 
try ;  and  he  was  right.  Space  itself,  mountains,  and 
seas,  and  rivers,  are  impediments.  The  want  of  pecu- 
niary means — the  expenses  of  the  outtit.  subsistence, 
and  transportation  of  a  family — is  no  slight  circum- 
stance. When  all  these  difficulties  are  overcome 
(and  how  few,  comparatively,  can  surmount  them  !) 
the  greatest  of  all  remains — that  of  being  torn  from 
one's  natal  spot,  separated  forever  from  the  roof  undei 


SPEECHES    OF    IIEXRT    CLAY. 

which  the  companions  of  his  childhood  were  shel- 
tered, from  the  trees  which  have  shaded  him  from 
summer's  heats,  the  spring  from  whose  jrushing  foun- 
tain lie  drank  in  his  youth,  the  tomhs  that  hold  the 
precious  relic  of  his  venerated  ancestors! 

But  I  have  said  that  the  Land  Committee  had  at- 
tempted to  confound  the  sentiments  of  Mr.  'Rush 
with  some  of  the  reasoning  employed  \>y  the  Com- 
mittee of  Manufactures  against  the  proposed  reduc- 
tion of  the  price  of  the  puhlic  lands.  What  is  that 
reasoning?  Here  it  is;  it  will  speak  for  itself,  and, 
without  a  single  comment,  will  demonstrate  how  dif- 
ferent it  is  from  that  of  the  late  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  unexceptionable  as  that  has  been  shown 
to  he. 

"  The  greatest  emigration,"  says  the  Manufacturing 
Committee,  "that  is  believed  now  to  take  place  from 
any  of  the  States,  is  from  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Ten- 
nessee. The  effects  of  a  material  reduction  in  the 
price  of  the  public  lands  would  be — 1st,  to  lessen  the 
value  of  real  estate  in  those  three  States;  2d,  to 
diminish  their  interest  in  the  public  domain  as  a 
common  fund  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  States;  and, 
3d,  to  offer  what  would  operate  as  a  bounty  to  further 
emigration  from  those  States,  occasioning  more  and 
more  lands,  situated  within  thorn,  to  be  thrown  into 
the  market,  thereby  not  only  lessening  the  value  of 
their  lands,  but  draining  them  of  both  their  popula- 
tion and  labor." 

There  are  good  men  in  different  parts,  but  especially 
in  the  Atlantic  portion  of  the  Union,  who  have  been 
induced  to  regard  lightly  this  vast  national  property  ; 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  397 

who  have  been  persuaded  that  the  people  of  the  "West 
are  dissatisfied  with  the  administration  of  it;  and 
who  bt-lieve  that  it  will,  in  the  end,  he  lost  to  the 
nation,  and  that  it  is  not  worth  present  care  and  pre- 
servation. But  these  are  radical  mistakes.  The  great 
body  of  the  West  are  satisfied,  perfectly  satisfied, 
with  the  general  administration  of  the  public  lands. 
They  would  indeed  like,  and  are  entitled  to,  a  more 
liberal  expenditure  among  them  of  the  proceeds  of 
the  sales.  For  this,  provision  is  made  by  the  bill  to 
which  I  will  hereafter  call  the  attention  of  the  Senate. 
But  the  great  body  of  the  West  have  not  called  for, 
and  understand  too  well  their  real  interest  to  desire, 
any  essential  change  in  the  system  of  survey,  sale,  or 
price  of  the  lands.  There  may  be  a  few,  stimulated 
by  demagogues,  who  desire  change  ;  and  what  system 
is  there,  what  government,  what  order  of  human  so- 
ciety, that  u  few  do  not  desire  to  change  ? 

It  is  one  of  the  admirable  properties  of  the  existing 
svstem,  that  it  contains  within  itself  and  carries  along 

*>  c? 

principles  of  conservation  and  safety.  In  the  pro- 
gress of  its  operation,  new  States  become  identified 
with  the  old,  in  feeling,  in  thinking,  and  in  interest. 
Now,  Ohio  is  as  sound  as  any  old  State  in  the  Union 
in  all  her  views  relating  to  the  public  lands.  She 
feels  that  her  share  in  the  exterior  domain  is  much 
more  important  than  would  be  an  exclusive  right  to 
the  tew  millions  of  acres  left  unsold  within  the  limits, 
accompanied  by  a  virtual  surrender  of  her  interest  in 
all  the  other  public  lands  of  the  United  States.  And 
I  have  no  doubt  that  now  the  people  of  the  other  new 
States,  left  to  their  own  unbiased  sense  of  equity  and 
34 


898  SPEECHES     OF     HENRY     CLAY. 

justice,  would  form  the  same  judgment.  They  ean 
not  believe  that  what  they  have  not  bought,  what  re- 
mains the  property  of  themselves  and  all  their  breth- 
ren of  the  United  States  in  common,  belongs  to  them 
exclusively.  But  if  I  am  mistaken  —  if  they  have 
be-on  deceived  by  erroneous  impressions  on  their  mind, 
made  by  artful  men — as  the  sales  proceed,  and  the 
land  is  exhausted,  and  their  population  .increased,  like 
the  State  of  Ohio,  they  will  feel  that  their  true  inte- 
rest points  to  their  remaining  copartners  in  the  whole 
national  domain,  instead  of  bringing  forward  an  un- 
founded pretension  to  the  inconsiderable  remnant 
which  will  then  be  left  within  their  own  limits. 

And  now,  Mr.  President,  I  have  to  say  something 
in  respect  to  the  particular  plan  brought  forward  by 
the  Committee  of  Manufactures  for  a  temporary  ap- 
propriation of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public 
lands. 

The  Committee  say  that  this  fund  is  not  wanted  bj 
the  General  Government;  that  the  peace  of  the  coun 
try  is  not  likely,  from  present  appearances,  to  IK 
speedily  disturbed  ;  and  that  the  General  Government 
is  absolutely  embarrassed  in  providing  against  an 
enormous  surplus  in  the  treasury.  While  this  is  the 
condition  of  the  Federal  Government,  the  States  are 
in  want  of,  and  can  most  beneficially  use,  that  very 
surplus  with  which  we  do  not  know  what  to  do.  The 
powers  of  the  General  Government  are  limited;  those 
of  the  States  are  ample.  If  those  limited  powers  au- 
thorized an  application  of  the  fund  to  some  objects, 
perhaps  there  are  some  others,  of  more  importance, 
to  which  the  powers  of  the  States,  would  be  more 


ON  THE   r  u  n i, i c  LANDS.  39V* 

competent,  or  to  which  they  may  apply  a  more  provi- 
dent care. 

But  the  government  of  the  whole  and  of  the  parts 
at  last  is  but  one  government  of  the  same  people. 
In  form  they  are  two,  in  substance  one.  They  both 
stand  under  the  same  solemn  obligation  to  promote, 
by  all  the  powers  with  which  they  are  respectively 
intrusted,  the  happiness  of  the  people;  and  the  peo- 
ple, in  their  turn,  owe  respect  and  allegiance  to  both. 
Maintaining  these  relations,  there  should  be  mutual 
assistance  to  each  other  afforded  by  these  two  sys- 
tems. When  the  States  are  full-handed,  and  the  cof- 
fers of  the  General  Government  are  empty,  the  States 
should  come  to  the  relief  of  the  General  Government, 
as  many  of  them  did,  most  promptly  and  patriotically, 
during  the  late  war.  When  the  conditions  of  the 
parties  are  reversed,  as  is  now  the  case  —  the  States 
wanting  what  is  almost  a  burden  to  the  General 
Government — 'the  duty  of  this  Government  is  to  go 
to  the  relief  of  the  States. 

They  were  views  like  these  which  induced  a  majo- 
rity of  the  Committee  to  propose  the  plan  of  distribu- 
tion contained  in  the  bill  now  under  consideration. 
For  one,  however,  I  will  again  repeat  the  declara- 
tion, which  I  made  early  in  the  session,  that  I  unite 
cordially  with  those  who  condemn  the  application  of 
any  principle  of  distribution  among  the  several  States, 
to  surplus  revenue  derived  from  taxation.  I  think 
income  derived  from  taxation  stands  upon  ground 
totally  distinct  from  that  which  is  received  from  the 
public  lauds.  Congress  can  prevent  the  accumula- 
tion, at  least  fur  any  considerable  time,  of  revenue 


400  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

from  duties,  by  suitable  legislation,  lowering  or  aug. 
menting  the  imposts;  but  it  cannot  stop  tbe  sales  of 
tlie  public  lands  without  tbe  exercise  of  arbitrary  and 
intolerable  power.  Tbe  powers  of  Congress  over  the 
public  lands  are  broader  and  more  comprehensive 
than  those  which  they  possess  over  taxation  and  the 
money  produced  by  it. 

This  brings  me  to  consider  —  first,  tbe  power  of 
Congress  to  make  the  distribution.  By  the  second 
part  of  the  third  section  of  the  fourth  article  of  the 
Constitution,  Congress  "  have  power  to  dispose  o/and 
make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the 
territory  or  other  property  of  the  United  States." 
The  power  of  disposition  is  plenary,  unrestrained,  un- 
qualified. It  is  not  limited  to  a  specified  object  or  to 
a  defined  purpose,  but  left  applicable  to  any  object  or 
purpose  which  the  wisdom  of  Congress  shall  deem  fit, 
acting  under  its  high  responsibility. 

The  Government  purchased  Louisiana  and  Florida. 
May  it  not  apply  the  proceeds  of  lands  within  those 
countries  to  any  object  which  the  good  of  the  Union 
ma}-  seem  to  indicate.  If  there  be  a  restraint  in  the 
Constitution,  where  is  it — what  is  it? 

The  uniform  practice  of  the  Government  has  con- 
formed to  tbe  idea  of  its  possessing  full  powers  over 
the  public  lands.  They  have  been  freely  granted, 
from  time  to  time,  to  communities  and  individuals, 
for  a  great  variety  of  purposes:  to  States  for  educa- 
tion, internal  improvements,  public  buildings;  to  cor- 
porations for  education;  to  the  deaf  and  dumb;  to 
the  cultivators  of  the  olive  and  the  vine  ;  to  pre-emp- 
tiouers  j  to  General  Lafayette,  &c. 


ON    THE     PUBLIC    LANDS.  401 

The  deeds  from  the  ceding  States,  far  from  oppo- 
sing, fully  warrant  the  distribution.  That  of  Vir- 
ginia ceded  the  land  as  <wa  common  fund  for  the  use 
and  benefit  of  such  of  the  United.  States  as  have  be- 
come, or  shall  become,  members  of  the  Confedera- 
tion or  Federal  alliance  of  the  said  States,  Virginia 
inclusive."  The  cession  was  for  the  benefit  of  all  the 
States.  It  may  be  argued  that  the  fund  must  be  re- 
tained in  the  common  treasury,  and  thence  paid  out. 
But,  by  the  bill  reported,  it  will  come  into  the  com- 
mon treasury,  and  then  the  question  how  it  shall  be 
subsequently  applied  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  such 
of  the  United  States  as  compose  the  Confederacy,  is 
one  of  modus  only.  Whether  the  money  is  disbursed 
by  the  General  Government  directly,  or  is  paid  out 
upon  some  equal  and  just  principle  to  the  States,  to 
be  disbursed  by  them,  cannot  affect  the  right  of  dis- 
tribution. If  the  General  Government  retained  the 
power  of  ultimate  disbursement,  it  could  execute  it 
only  by  suitable  agents;  and  what  agency  is  more 
suitable  than  that  of  the  States  themselves  ?  If  the 
States  expend  the  money,  as  the  bill  contemplates, 
the  expenditure  will,  in  effect,  be  a  disbursement  for 
the  benefit  of  the  whole,  although  the  several  States 
are  organs  of  the  expenditure ;  for  the  whole  and  all 
the  parts  are  idemical.  And  whatever  redounds  to 
the  benefit  of  all  the  parts,  necessarily  contributes  in 
the  same  measure  to  the  benefit  of  the  whole.  The 
great  question  should  be,  "Is  the  distribution  upon 
equal  and  just  principles?"  And  this  brings  me  to 
consider: 

Second.  The  terms  of  the  distribution  proposed  by 
34*  2  A 


402  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

the  bill  of  the  Committee  of  Manufactures.  The  bill 
proposes  a  division  of  the  net  proceeds  of  the  sales 
of  the  public  lands  among  the  several  States  com- 
posing the  Union,  according  to  their  Federal  repre- 
sentative population,  as  ascertained  by  the  last  cen- 
eus;  and  it  provides  for  new  States  that  may  hereafter 
be  admitted  into  the  Union.  The  basis  of  the  distri- 
bution, therefore,  is  derived  from  the  Constitution 
itself,  which  has  adopted  the  same  rule  in  respect  to 
representation  and  direct  taxes."  Xone  could  be  more 
just  and  equitable. 

But  it  has  been  contended,  in  the  land  report,  that 
the  Revolutionary  States  which  did  not  cede  their 
public  lands  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  come  into 
the  distribution.  This  objection  does  not  apply  to 
the  purchases  of  Louisiana  and  Florida,  because  the 
consideration  for  them  was  paid  out  of  the  common 
treasury,  and  was  consequently  contributed  by  all  the 
States.  IS'or  has  the  objection  any  just  foundation 
when  applied  to  the  public  lands  derived  from  Vir- 
ginia and  the  other  ceding  States;  because,  by  the 
terms  of  the  deeds,  the  cessions  were  made  for  the 
use  and  benefit  of  all  the  States.  The  ceding  States 
having  made  no  exception  of  any  State,  what  right 
has  the  General  Government  to  interpolate  in  the 
deeds,  and  now  create  an  exception  ?  The  General 
Government  is  a  mere  trustee,  holding  the  domain 
in  virtue  of  those  deeds,  according  to  the  terms  and 
conditions  which  they  expressly  describe;  and -it  is 
bound  to  execute  the  trust  accordingly.  But  how 
is  the  fund  produced  by  the  public  lands  now  ex- 
pended? It  comes  into  the  common  treasury,  and  is 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  403 

disbursed  for  the  common  benefit,  without  exception 
of  any  State.  The  bill  only  proposes  to  substitute 
to  that  object,  now  no  longer  necessary,  another  and 
more  useful  common  object.  The  general  applica- 
tion of  the  fund  will  continue,  under  the  operation 
of  the  bill,  although  the  particular  purposes  may  be 
varied. 

The  equity  of  the  proposed  distribution,  as  it  re- 
spects the  two  classes  of  States,  the  old  and  the  new, 
must  be  manifest  to  the  Senate.    It  proposes  to  assign 
to  the  new  States,  besides  the  five  per  cent,  stipulated 
for  in  their  several  compacts  with  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, the  further  sum  of  ten  per  cent,  upon  the 
net  proceeds.     Assuming  the    proceeds   of  the  last 
year,  amounting  to  §3, 566,127  94,  as  the  basis  of  the 
calculation,  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  paper  which  shows 
the  sum  that  each  of  the  seven  new  States  would  re- 
ceive.   They  have  complained  of  the  exemption  from 
taxation  of  the  public  lands  sold  by  the  General  Gov- 
ernment for  five  years  after  the  sale.     If  that  exemp- 
tion did  not  exist,  and  they  were  to  exercise  the  power 
of  taxing  those  lands,  as  the  average  increase  of  their 
population   is  only   eight  and   a  half  per  cent,  per 
annum,   the   additional    revenue  which  they   would 
save  would  be  only  eight  and  a  half  per  cent,  per 
annum  ;  that  is  to  say,  a  State  now  collecting  a  reve- 
nue of  $100,000  per  annum,  would  collect  only  $108,- 
500  if  it  were  to  tax  the  lands  recently  sold.    But,  by 
the  bill  under  consideration,  each  of  the  seven  new 
States  will  annually  receive,  as  its  distributive  share, 
more  than  the  whole  amount  of  its  annual  revenue. 


404  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

It  may  be  thought  that  to  set  apart  ten  per  cent,  to 
the  new  States,  in  the  first  instance,  is  too  great  a 
proportion,  and  is  unjust  toward  the  old  States.  Hut 
it  will  be  recollected  that,  as  they  populate  much 
faster  than  the  old  States,  and  as  the  last  census  is  to 
govern  in  the  apportionment,  they  ought  to  receive 
more  than  the  old  States.  If  they  receive  too  much 
nt  the  commencement  of  the  term,  it  may  be  neutral- 
ized by  the  end  of  it. 

After  the  deduction  shall  have  been  made  of  the 
fifteen  per  cent,  allotted  to  the  new  States,  the  residue 
is  to  be  divided  among  the  twenty-four  States,  old 
and  new,  composing  the  Union.  "What  each  of  the 
States  would  receive,  is  shown  by  a  table  annexed  to 
the  report.  Taking  the  proceeds  of  the  last  year  as 
the  standard,  there  must  be  added  one-sixth  to  what 
is  set  down  in  that  table  as  the  proportion  of  the 
several  States. 

If  the  power  and  the  principle  of  the  proposed  dis- 
tribution be  satisfactory  to  the  Senate,  I  think  the 
objects  cannot  fail  to  be  equally  so.  They  are  Edu- 
cation, Internal  Improvements,  and  Colonization — all 
great  and  beneficent  objects  —  all  national  in  their 
nature.  No  mind  can  be  cultivated  and  improved, 
no  work  of  internal  improvement  can  be  executed  in 
any  part  of  the  Union,  nor  any  person  of  color  trans- 
ported from  any  of  its  ports,  in  which  the  whole 
Union  is  not  interested.  The  prosperity  of  the  whole 
is  an  aggregate  of  the  prosperity  of  the  parts. 

The  States,  each  judging  for  itself,  will  select, 
among  the  objects  enumerated  in  the  bill,  that  which 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  405 

comports  best  with  its  own  policy.  There  is  no  com- 
pulsion in  the  choice.  Some  will  prefer,  perhaps,  to 
apply  the  fund  to  the  extinction  of  debt,  now  burden- 
some, created  for  Internal  Improvement;  some  to 
new  objects  of  Internal  Improvement;  others  to  Edu- 
cation ;  and  others,  again,  to  Colonization.  It  may 
be  supposed  possible  that  the  States  will  divert  the 
fund  from  the  specified  purposes;  but  against  such  a 
misapplication  we  have,  in  the  first  place,  the  security 
which  arises  out  of  their  presumed  good  faith  ;  and, 
in  the  second,  the  power  to  withhold  subsequent,  if 
there  has  been  any  abuse  in  previous  appropriations. 
It  has  been  argued  that  the  General  Government 
has  no  power  in  respect  to  Colonization.  Waiving 
that,  as  not  being  a  question  at  this  time,  the  real 
inquiry  is,  "Have  the  States  themselves  any  such 
power?"  —  far  it  is  to  the  States  that  the  subject  is 
referred.  The  evil  of  a  free  black  population  is  not 
restricted  to  particular  States,  but  extends  to  and  is 
felt  by  all.  It  is  not,  therefore,  the  slave  question, 
but  totally  c'.istinet  from  and  unconnected  with  it.  I 
have  heretofore  often  expressed  my  perfect  conviction 
that  the  General  Government  has  no  constitutional 
power  which  it  can  exercise  in  regard  to  African  sla- 
very. That  conviction  remains  unchanged.  The 
States  in  which  slavery  is  tolerated  have  exclusively 
in  their  own  hands  the  entire  regulation  of  the  sub- 
ject. But  the  slave  States  differ  in  opinion  as  to  the 
expediency  of  African  colonization.  Several  of  them 
have  signified  their  approbation  of  it.  The  Legisla- 
ture of  Kentucky,  I  believe  unanimously,  r<ecom- 


406  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY, 

mended  the  encouragement  of  Colonization  to  Con- 
gress. 

Should  a  war  break  out  during  the  term  uf  five 
years  that  the  operation  of  the  hill  is  limited  to,  tho 
fund  is  to  be  withdrawn  and  applied  to  the  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war.  If  there  he  no  war,  Congress, 
at  the  end  of  the  term,  will  be  able  to  ascertain  whe- 
ther the  money  has  been  beneficially  expended,  and 
to  judge  of  the  propriety  of  continuing  the  distribu- 
tion. 

Three  reports  have  been  made,  on  this  great  sub- 
ject of  the  public  lands,  during  the  present  session 
of  Congress,  besides  that  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  at  its  commencement  —  two  in  the  Senate 
and  one  in  the  House.  All  three  of  them  agree — 1st, 
in  the  preservation  of  the  control  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment over  the  public  lands;  and,  2d,  they  concur 
in  rejecting  the  plan  of  a  cession  of  the  public  lands 
to  the  States  in  which  they  are  situated,  recommended 
by  the  Secretary.  The  land  committee  of  the  Senate 
propose  an  assignment  of  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  net 
proceeds,  besides  the  five  per  cent,  stipulated  in  the 
compacts  (making  together  twenty  per  cent.),  to  the 
new  States,  and  nothing  to  the  old. 

The  Committee  of  Manufactures  of  tTte  Senate, 
after  an  allotment  of  an  additional  sum  of  ten  per 
cent,  to  the  new  States,  propose  an  equal  distribution 
of  the  residue  among  all  the  States,  old  and  new, 
upon  equitable  principles. 

The  Senate's  land  committee,  besides  the  proposal 
of  a  distribution  restricted  to  the  new  States,  recom- 


ON    THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  407 

mends  an  immediate  reduction  of  the  price  of  "fresh 
lands"  to  a  minimum  of  one  dollar  per  acre,  and  to 
fifty  cents  per  acre  for  lands  which  have  been  five 
years  or  upward  in  market. 

The  land  committee  of  the  House  is  opposed  to  Ml 
distribution,  general  or  partial,  and  recommends  a 
reduction  of  the  price  to  one  dollar  per  acre. 

And  now,  Mr.  President,  I  have  a  few  more  words 
to  say,  and  shall  be  done.  We  are  admonished  by 
all  our  reflections,  and  by  existing  signs,  of  the  duty 
of  communicating  strength  and  energy  to  the  glo- 
rious Union  which  now  encircles  our  favored  conn- 
try.  Among  the  ties  which  bind  us  together,  the 
public  domain  merits  high  consideration.  And  if  we 
distribute,  for  a  limited  time,  the  proceeds  of  that 
gr  at  resource  among  the  several  States,  for  the  irn- 
po  t.mt  objects  which  have  been  enumerated,  a  new 
and  powerful  bond  of  affection  and  of  interest  will 
be  added.  The  States  will  feel  and  recognize  the 
operation  of  the  General  Government,  not  merely  in 
power  and  burdens,  but  in  benefactions  and  bless- 
ings. And  the  General  Government  in  its  turn  will 
feel,  from  the  expenditure  of  the  money  which  it  dis- 
penses to  the  States,  the  benefits  of  moral  and  intel- 
lectual improvement  of  the  people,  of  greater  facility 
in  social  and  commercial  intercourse,  and  of  the  puri- 
ikation  of  the  population  of  our  country,  themselves 
the  be.-t  parental  sources  of  national  character,  na 
tional  union,  and  national  greatness.  Whatever  maj 
be  the  fate  of  the  particular  proposition  now  under 
consideration,  I  sincerely  hope  that  the  attention  of 


408  SPEECHES  or  HENRY  CLAY. 

the  nation  may  be  attracted  to  this  most  interesting 
subject;  that  it  may  justly  appreciate  the  value  of 
this  immense  national  property ;  and  that,  preserving 
the  regulation  of  it  by  the  will  of  the  whole,  for  the 
advantage  of  the  whole,  it  may  be  transmitted,  as  a 
sacred  and  inestimable  succession,  to  posterity,  ioi 
its  benefit  and  blessing  for  ages  to  come. 


ON    AFRICAN    COLONIZATION.  409 

IV. 

ON  AFRICAN   COLONIZATION. 

Delivered  in  the  House  of  Representative!,  Jan.  20,  1827. 
BEFORE    THE    AMERICAN    COLONIZATION    SOCIETY. 

I  CANNOT  withhold  the  expression  of  my  congratu- 
lations to  the  Society  on  account  of  the  very  valuable 
acquisition  which  we  have  obtained  in  the  eloquent 
gentleman  from  Boston  (Mr.  Knapp),  who  has  just 
favored  us  with  an  address.  He  has  told  us  of  hia 
original  impressions,  unfavorable  to  the  object  of  the 
Society,  and  of  his  subsequent  conversion.  If  the 
same  industry,  investigation,  and  unbiased  judgment, 
which  he  and  another  gentleman  (Mr.  Powell),  who 
avowed  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Society  a  similar 
change  wrought  in  his  mind,  were  carried  by  the 
public  at  large  into  the  consideration  of  the  plan  of 
the  Society,  the  conviction  of  its  utility  would  be 
universal. 

I  have  risen  to  submit  a  resolution,  in  behalf  of 
which  I  would  bespeak  the  favor  of  the  Society.  But 
before  I  offer  any  observations  in  its  support,  I  must 
say  that,  whatever  part  I  may  take  in  the  proceedings 
of  this  Society,  whatever  opinions  or  sentiments  I 
may  utter,  they  are  exclusively  my  own.  "Whether 
they  are  worth  anything  or  not,  no  one  but  myself  is 
at  all  responsible  for  them.  I  have  consulted  with 
no  person  out  of  this  Society ;  and  I  have  especially 
35 


•110  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 


from  all  communication  or  consultation 
with  any  one  to  whom  I  stand  in  any  official  relation. 
My  judgment  on  the  ohject  of  this  Society  has  been 
long  since  deliberately  formed.  The  conclusions  to 
which,  after  much  and  anxious  consideration,  my 
mind  has  been  brought,  have  been  neither  produced 
nor  refuted  by  the  official  station,  the  duties  of  which 
have  been  confided  to  me. 

From  the  origin  of  this  Society,  every  member  of 
it  has,  I  believe,  looked  forward  to  the  arrival  of  a 
period  when  it  would  be  necessary  to  invoke  the 
public  aid  in  the  execution  of  the  great  scheme  which 
it  was  instituted  to  promote.  Considering  itself  as 
the  mere  pioneer  in  the  cause  which  it  had  under- 
taken, it  was  well  aware  that  it  could  do  no  more 
than  remove  preliminary  difficulties,  and  point  out  a 
sure  road  to  ultimate  success;  and  that  the  public 
only  could  supply  that  regular,  steady,  and  efficient 
support,  to  which  the  gratuitous  means  of  benevolent 
individuals  would  be  found  incompetent.  My  sur- 
prise has  been  that  the  Society  has  been  able  so  long 
to  sustain  itself,  and  to  do  so  much  upon  the  chari- 
table contributions  of  good,  and  pious,  and  enlight- 
ened men,  whom  it  has  happily  found  in  all  parts  of 
our  country.  But  our  work  has  so  prospered  and 
grown  under  our  hands,  that  the  appeal  to  the  power 
and  resources  of  the  public  should  be  no  longer  de- 
ferred. The  resolution  which  I  have  risen  to  propose 
contemplates  this  appeal.  It  is  in  the  following 
words  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  board  of  managers  be  era- 
powered  and  directed,  at  such  time  or  times  as 


OX    AFRICAN     COLONIZATION.  411 

seem  to  them  expedient,  to  make  respectful  applica- 
tion to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  to  the 
Legislatures  of  the  different  States,  for  such  pecu- 
niary aid,  in  furtherance  of  the  object  of  this  Society, 
as  they  may  respectively  be  pleased  to  grant." 

In  soliciting  the  countenance  and  support  of  the 
Legislatures  of  the  Union  and  the  States,  it  is  incum- 
bent on  the  Society,  iu  making  out  its  case,  to  show : 
first,  that  it  offers  to  their  consideration  a  scheme 
which  is  practicable;  and,  second,  that  the  execution 
of  a  practicable  scheme,  partial  or  entire,  will  be 
fraught  with  such  beneficial  consequences  as  to  merit 
the  support  which  is  solicited.  I  believe  both  points 
to  be  maintainable.  First:  it  is  now  little  upward 
of  ten  years  since  a  religious,  amiable,  and  benevo- 
lent resident  of  this  city  first  conceived  the  idea  of 
planting  a  colony,  from  the  United  States,  of  free 
people  of  color,  on  the  western  shores  of  Africa.  lie 
is  no  more;  and  the  noblest  eulogy  which  could  be 
pronounced  on  him  would  be  to  inscribe  on  his  tomb 
the  merited  epitaph:  "Here  lies  the  projector  of  the 
American  Colonization  Society."  Among  others  to 
whom  he  communicated  the  project,  was  the  person 
who  now  lias  the  honor  of  addressing  you.  My  first 
impressions,  like  those  of  all  who  have  not  fully  in- 
vestigated the  subject,  were  against  it.  They  yielded 
to  his  earnest  persuasions  and  my  own  reflections, 
and  I  finally  agreed  with  him  that  the  experiment 
was  worthv  of  a  fair  trial.  A  meeting  of  its  friends 

•/  O 

was  called,  organized  as  a  deliberative  body,  and  a 
Constitution  was  formed.  The  Society  went  into  ope« 
ration.  He  lived  to  see  the  most  encouraging  pro- 


412  SPEECHES    OF    HENttY    CLAT. 

gross  in  its  exertions,  and  died  in  full  confidence  of 
its  complete  success.  The  Society  was  scarcely  formed 
before  it  was  exposed  to  the  derision  of  the  unthink- 
ing; pronounced  to  be  visionary  and  chimerical  by 
those  who  were  capable  of  adopting  wiser  opinions; 
and  the  most  confident  predictions  of  its  entire  fail- 
ure were  put  forth.  It  found  itself  equally  assailed 
by  the  two  extremes  of  public  sentiment  in  regard 
to  our  African  population.  According  to  one  (that 
rash  class  which,  without  a  due  estimate  of  the  fatal 
consequence,  would  forthwith  issue  a  decree  of  gene- 
ral, immediate,  and  indiscriminate  emancipation),  it 
was  a  scheme  of  the  slaveholder  to  perpetuate  slavery. 
The  other  (that  class  which  believes  slavery  a  bless- 
ing, and  which  trembles  with  aspen  sensibility  at  the 
appearance  of  the  most  distant  and  ideal  danger  to 
the  tenure  by  which  that  description  of  property  is 
held)  declared  it  a  contrivance  to  let  loose  on  society 
all  the  slaves  of  the  country,  ignorant,  uneducated, 
and  incapable  of  appreciating  the  value  or  enjoying 
the  privileges  of  freedom.  The  Society  saw  itself 
surrounded  b}-  every  sort  of  embarrassment.  What 
great  human  enterprise  was  ever  undertaken  without 
difficulty?  What  ever  failed,  within  the  compass  of 
human  power,  when  pursued  wiih  perseverance  and 
blessed  by  the  smiles  of  Providence?  The  Society 
prosecuted  undismayed  its  great  work,  appealing  for 
succor  to  the  moderate,  the  reasonable,  the  virtuous, 
nnd  religious  portions  of  the  public.  It  protested 
from  the  commencement,  and  throughout  all  its  pro- 
gress, and  it  now  protests,  that  it  entertains  no  pur- 
pose, on  its  own  authority  or  by  its  own  means,  to 


ON    AFRICAN    COLONIZATION".  413 

attempt  emancipation,  partial  or  general ;  that  it 
knows  the  General  Government  has  no  constitutional 
power  to  achieve  such  an  object;  that  it  believes  that 
the  States,  and  the  States  only,  which  tolerate  sla- 
very, can  accomplish  the  work  of  emancipation  ;  and 
that  it  ought  to  be  left  to  them,  exclusively,  abso- 
lutely, and  voluntarily,  to  decide  the  question. 

The  object  of  the  Society  was  the  colonization  of 
the  free  colored  people,  not  the  slaves,  of  the  coun- 
try. Voluntary  in  its  institution,  voluntary  in  its 
continuance,  voluntary  in  all  its  ramifications,  all  its 
means,  purposes,  and  instruments,  are  also  voluntary. 
But  it  was  said  that  no  free  colored  persons  could  be 
prevailed  upon  to  abandon  the  comforts  of  civilized 
life,  and  expose  themselves  to  all  the  perils  of  a  set- 
tlement in  a  distant,  inhospitable,  and  savage  coun- 
try;  that,  if  they  could  be  induced  to  go  on  such  a 
Quixotic  expedition,  no  territory  could  be  procured 
for  their  establishment  as  a  colony ;  that  the  plan 
was  altogether  incompetent  to  ett'ect  its  professed  ob- 
ject; and  that  it  ought  to  be  rejected  as  the  idle 
dream  of  visionary  enthusiasts.  The  Society  has  out- 
lived, thank  God,  all  these  disastrous  predictions.  It 
has  survived  to  swell  the  list  of  false  prophets.  It  is 
no  longer  a  question  of  speculation  whether  a  colony 
can  or  cannot  be  planted,  from  the  United  States,  of 
free  persons  of  color  on  the  shores  of  Africa.  It  is  a 
matter  demonstrated;  such  a  colony,  in  fact,  exists, 
prospers,  has  made  successful  war  and  honorable 
peace,  and  transacts  all  the  multiplied  business  of  a 
civilized  and  Christian  community.  It  now  has  about 
five  hundred  souls,  disciplined  troops,  forts,  and  other 
35* 


414  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

means  of  defence,  sovereignty  over  an  extensive  ter- 
ritory, and  exerts  a  powerful  and  salutary  influence 
over  the  neighboring  clans. 

Numbers  of  the  free  African  race  among  ns  are 
willing  to  go  to  Africa.  The  Society  has  never  ex 
perieneed  any  difficulty  on  that  subject,  except  that 
its  means  of  comfortable  transportation  have  been  in- 
adequate to  accommodate  all  who  have  been  anxious 
to  migrate.  "Why  should  they  not  go  ?  Here  they 
are  in  the  lowest  state  of  social  gradation  —  aliens  — 
poli;ical  —  moral  —  social  aliens,  strangers,  though 
natives.  There,  they  would  be  in  the  midst  of  their 
friends  and  their  kindred,  at  home,  though  born  in  a 
foreign  land,  and  elevated  above  the  natives  of  the 
country,  as  much  as  they  are  degraded  here  below  the 
other  classes  of  the  community.  I3ut  on  this  matter, 
I  am  happy  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  furnish  indis- 
putable evidence  from  the  most  authentic  source,  that 
of  large  numbers  of  free  persons  of  color  themselves. 
Numerous  meetings  have  been  held  in  several  churches 
in  Baltimore,  of  the  free  people  of  color,  in  which, 
after  being  organized  as  deliberative  assemblies,  by 
the  appointment  of  a  chairman  (if  not  of  the  same 
complexion)  presiding  as  you,  Mr.  Vice-President,  do, 
and  secretaries,  they  have  voted  memorials  addressed 
to  the  white  people,  in  which  they  have  argued  the 
question  with  an  ability,  moderation,  and  temper, 
surpassing  anything  I  can  command,  and  emphati- 
cally recommended  the  colony  of  Liberia  to  favorable 
consideration,  as  the  most  desirable  and  practicable 
scheme  ever  yet  presented  ou  this  interesting  subject. 


ON    AFRICAN     COLONIZATION.  415 

I  ask  permission  of  the  Society  to  read  a  portion  of 
this  hiiflilv  creditable  document: 

O        ** 

"  The  system  of  government  established  with  the 
full  consent  of  the  colonists,  in  the  autumn  of  1824, 
and  which  the  managers  had  the  happiness  to  repre- 
sent in  their  last  report,  as  having  thus  far  fulfilled 
all  the  purposes  of  its  institution,  has  continued  its 
operations  during  the  year  without  the  least  irregu- 
larity, and  with  undiminished  success.  The  repub- 
lican principle  is  introduced  as  far  as  is  consistent 
with  the  youthful  and  unformed  character  of  the  set- 
tlement, and  in  the  election  of  their  officers  the  colo- 
nists have  evinced  such  integrity  and  judgment,  as 
affbrd  promfse  of  early  preparation  for  all  the  duties 
of  self-government.  '  The  civil  prerogatives  and  gov- 
ernment of  the  colony,  and  the  body  of  the  laws  by 
which  they  are  sustained,'  says  the  colonial  agent, 
*are  the  pride  of  all.  I  am  happy  in  the  persuasion 
I  have,  that  I  hold  the  balance  of  the  laws,  in  the 
midst  of  a  people,  with  whom  the  first  perceptible  in- 
clination of  the  sacred  scale  determines  authorita- 
tively their  sentiments  and  their  conduct.  There  are 
individual  exceptions,  hut  these  remarks  extend  to 
the  body  of  the  settlers.' 

"  The  moral  and  religious  character  of  the  colony 
exerts  a  powerful  influence  on  its  social  and  civil 
condition.  That  piety  which  had  guided  most  of  the 
early  emigrants  to  Liberia,  even  before  they  left  this 
country,  to  respectability  and  usefulness  among  their 
associates,  prepared  them,  in  laying  the  foundation 
of  a  colony,  to  act  with  a  degree  of  wisdom  and  energy 
which  no  earthly  motives  could  inspire.  Ilurnble, 


416  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

nncl  for  the  most  part  unlettered  men  ;  born  and  bred 
in  circumstances  the  most  unfavorable  to  mental  cul- 
ture ;  unsustained  by  the  hope  of  renown,  and  unfa- 
miliar with  the  history  of  great  achievements  and 
heroic  virtues,  theirs  was,  nevertheless,  a  spirit  un- 
moved by  dangers  or  by  Bufferings,  which  misfortunes 
could  not  darken,  nor  death  dismay.  They  left  Aine- 
lica,  and  felt  that  it  was  forever:  they  landed  in 
Africa,  possibly  to  find  a  home,  but  certainly  a  grave. 
Strange  would  it  have  been  had  the  religion  of  every 
individual  of  these  early  settlers  proved  genuine  ;  but. 
immensely  changed  as  have  been  their  circumstances, 
and  severely  tried  their  faith,  most  have  preserved 
untarnished  the  honors  of  their  profession,  and  to  the 
purity  of  their  morals,  and  the  consistency  of  their 
conduct,  is,  in  a  great  measure,  to  be  attributed 
the  social  order  and  general  prosperity  of  the  colony 
of  Liberia." 

In  respect  to  the  alleged  incompetency  of  the 
scheme  to  accomplish  its  professed  object,  the  Society 
asks  that  the  object  should  be  taken  to  be,  not  what 
the  imaginations  of  its  enemies  represent  it  to  be, 
but  what  it  really  proposes.  They  represent  that  the 
purpose  of  the  Society  is  to  export  the  whole  African 
population  of  the  United  States,  bond  and  free;  and 
they  pronounce  this  design  to  be  unattainable.  They 
declare  that  the  means  of  the  whole  country  are  in- 
eufficient  to  effect  the  transportation  to  Africa  of  a 
mass  of  population  approximating  to  two  millions  <>f 
Bouia.  Agreed ;  but  that  is  not  what  the  Society 
contemplates.  They  have  substituted  their  own  no- 
tion fur  that  of  the  Society.  What  is  the  true  nature 


ON    AFRICAN    COLONIZATION.  417 

of  the  evil  'of  the  existence  of  a  portion  of  the  African 
race  in  our  population  ?  It  is  not  that  there  am 
some,  but  that  there  are  so  many  among  us  of  a  dif- 
ferent caste,  of  a  different  physical,  if  not  moral, 
constitution,  who  never  can  amalgamate  with  the 
great  body  of  our  population.  In  every  country,  per- 
sons are  to  be  found  varying  in  their  color,  origin, 
and  character,  from  the  native  mass.  But  this  ano- 
maly creates  no  inquietude  or  apprehension,  because 
the  exotics,  from  the  smallness  of  their  number,  are 
known  to  be  utterly  incapable  of  disturbing  the  ge- 
neral tranquillity.  Here,  on  the  contrary,  the  African 
part  of  our  population  bears  so  large  a  proportion  to 
the  residue,  of  European  origin,  as  to  create  the  most 
lively  apprehension,  especially  in  some  quarters  of 
the  Union.  Any  project,  therefore,  by  which,  in  a 
material  degree,  the  dangerous  element  in  the  general 
mass  can  be  diminished  or  rendered  stationary,  de- 
serves deliberate  consideration. 

The  Colonization  Society  has  never  imagined  it  to 
be  practicable,  or  within  the  reach  of  any  means 
which  the  several  Governments  of  the  Union  could 
bring  to  bear  on  the  subject,  to  transport  the  whole 
of  the  African  race  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States.  !NY>r  is  that  necessary  to  accomplish  the  de- 
sirable object  of  domestic  tranquillity,  and  render  us 
one  homogeneous  people.  The  population  of  the 
United  States  has  been  supposed  to  duplicate  in  pe- 
riods of  twenty-live  years.  That  may  have  been  the 
case  heretofore,  but  the  terms  of  duplication  will  bo 
more  and  more  protracted  as  we  advance  in  national 
age ;  and  I  do  not  believe  that  it  will  be  fouud,  iu 

2s 


418  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

any  period  to  come,  that  our  numbers  will  be  dou- 
bled in  a  less  term  than  one  of  about  thirty-three  and 
a  third  years.  I  have  not  time  to  enter  now  into  de- 
tails in  support  of  this  opinion.  They  would  consist 
of  those  checks  which  experience  lias  shown  to  ob- 
struct the  progress  of  population,  arising  out  of  ita 
actual  augmentation  and  density,  the  settlement  of 
waste  lands,  etc.  Assuming  the  period  of  thirty-three 
and  a  third,  or  any  other  number  of  years,  to  be  that 
in  which  our  population  will  hereafter  be  doubled, 
if  during  that  whole  term  the  capital  of  the  African 
stock  could  be  kept  down,  or  stationary,  while  that 
of  European  origin  should  be  left  to  an  unobstructed 
increase,  the  result,  at  the  end  of  the  term,  would  be 
most  propitious.  Let  us  suppose,  for  example,  that 
the  whole  population  at  present  of  the  United  States 
is  twelve  millions,  of  which  ten  may  be  estimated  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon,  and  two  of  the  African  race.  If 
there  could  be  annually  transported  from  the  United 
States  an  amount  of  the  African  portion  equal  to  the 
annual  increase  of  the  whole  of  that  caste,  while  the 
European  race  should  be  left  to  multiply,  we  should 
find,  at  the  termination  of  the  period  of  duplication, 
whatever  it  may  be,  that  the  relative  proportions 
would  be  as  twenty  to  two.  And  if  the  process  were 
continued,  during  a  second  term  of  duplication,  the 
proportion  would  be  as  forty  to  two  —  one  which 
would  eradicate  every  cause  of  alarm  or  solicitude 
from  the  breasts  of  the  most  timid.  But  the  trans- 
portation of  Africans,  by  creating,  to  the  extent  to 
which  it  might  be  carried,  a  vacuum  in  society,  would 
tend  to  accelerate  the  duplication  of  the  European 


ON    AFRICAN    COLONIZATION.  419 

race,  who,  by  all  the  laws  of  population,  would  fill 
up  the  void  space. 

This  Society  is  well  aware,  I  repeat,  that  they  can- 
not touch  the  subject  of  slavery.  But  it  is  no  objec- 
tion to  their  scheme,  limited  as  it  is  exclusively  to 
those  free  people  of  color  who  are  willing  to  migrate, 
that  it  admits  of  indefinite  extension  and  application, 
by  those  who  alone,  having  the  competent  authority, 
may  choose  to  adopt  and  apply  it.  Our  object  has 
been  to  point  out  the  wa}-,  to  show  that  colonization 
is  practicable,  and  to  leave  it  to  those  States  or  indi- 
viduals who  may  be  pleased  to  engage  in  the  object, 
to  prosecute  it.  We  have  demonstrated  that  a  colony 
may  be  planted  in  Africa,  by  the  fact  that  an  Ameri- 
can colony  there  exists.  The  problem  which  has  so 
long  and  so  deeply  interested  the  thoughts  of  good 
and  patriotic  men  is  solved.  A  country  and  a  home 
have  been  found,  to  which  the  African  race  may  be 
sent,  to  the  promotion  of  their  happiness  and  our 
own. 

But,  Mr.  President,  I  shall  not  rest  contented  with 
the  fact  of  the  establishment  of  the  colony,  conclu- 
sive as  it  ought  to  be  deemed,  of  the  practicability 
of  our  purpose.  I  shall  proceed  to  show,  by  refer- 
ence to  indisputable  statistical  details  and  calcula- 
tions, that  it  is  within  the  compass  of  reasonable 
human  means.  I  am  sensible  of  the  tediousness  of 
all  arithmetical  data,  but  I  will  endeavor  to  simplify 
them  as  much  as  possible.  It  will  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  Society  is  to  establish  in  Africa  a  colony  of 
the  free  African  population  of  the  United  States,  to 
aii  exteut  which  shall  be  beneficial  both  to  Africa 


420  SPEECHES     OF     HENRY    CLAY. 

and   America.     The  whole   free  colored  population 
of  the  United  States  amounted,  in  1790,  to  lifty-nino 
thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-one;  in  1800,  to 
one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  and  seventy-two ;  in 
1810,  to  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  thousand  four 
hundred  and  forty-six;  and  in  1820,  to  two  hundred 
and   thirty-three  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty. 
The  ratio  of  annual  increase  during  the  iirst  term  of 
ten  years  was  about  eight  and  a  half  per  cent,  per 
annum  ;  during  the  second  about  seven  per  cent,  per 
annunj  :    and   during  the  third,  a  little    more  than 
two   and  a  half.     The  very  great  difference  in   the 
rate  of  annual  increase,  during  those  several  terms, 
may  probably  be  accounted  for  by  the  effect  of  the 
number  of  voluntary  emancipations  operating  with 
more   influence   upon   the  total    smaller  amount  of 
free  colored  persons  at  the  first  of  those  periods,  and 
by  the  facts  of  the  insurrection  in  St.  Domingo,  and 
the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  both  of  which,  occur- 
ring during  the  first  and  second  terms,  added  con- 
siderably to  the  number  of  our  free  colored  popula- 
tion. 

Of  all  descriptions  of  our  population,  that  of  the 
free  colored,  taken  in  the  aggregate,  is  the  least  pro- 
lific, because  of  the  checks  arising  from  vice  and 
want.  During  the  ten  years  between  1810  and  1820, 
\\hen  no  extraneous  causes  existed  to  prevent  a  fair 
competition  in  the  increase  between  the  slave  and  the 
free  African  race,  the  former  increased  at  the  rate  of 
nearly  three  per  cent,  per  annum,  while  the  hitter  did 
not  much  exceed  two  and  a  half.  Hereafter  it  may 
be  safely  assumed,  and  I  venture  to  predict  will  not 


OX    AFRICAN    COLO^IZ  AT  I  "Off.  421 

be  contradicted  by  tlic  return  of  the  next  census,  that 
the  increase  of  the  free  black  population  will  not  sur- 
pass two  and  a  half  per  cent,  per  annum.  Their 
amount  at  the  last  census  being  two  hundred  and 
thirty-three  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty,  for  the 
sake  of  round  numbers,  their  annual  increase  may 
be  assumed  to  be  six  thousand  at  the  present  time. 
Now,  if  this  number  could  be  annually  transported 
from  the  United  States  during  a  term  of  years,  it  is 
evident  that,  at  the  end  of  that  term,  the  parent  capi- 
tal will  not  have  increased,  but  will  have  been  kept 
down,  at  least  to  what  it  was  at  the  commencement 
of  the  term.  Is  it  practicable,  then,  to  colonize  annu- 
ally six  thousand  persons  from  the  United  States, 
without  materially  impairing  or  affecting  any  of  the 
great  interests  of  the  United  States  ?  This  is  the 
question  presented  to  the  judgments  of  the  legislative 
authorities  of  our  country.  This  is  the  whole  scheme 
of  the  Society.  From  its  actual  experience,  derived 
from  the  expenses  which  have  been  incurred  in  trans- 
porting the  persons  already  sent  to  Africa,  the  entire 
average  expense  of  each  colonist,  young  and  old,  in- 
cluding passage-money  and  subsistence,  may  be  stated 
at  twenty  dollars  per  head.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  it  may  be  reduced  considerably  below  that  sum. 
Estimating  that  to  be  the  expense,  the  total  cost  of 
transporting  six  thousand  souls  annually  to  Africa 
would  be  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars. 
The  tonnage,  requisite  to  effect  the  object,  calculating 
two  persons  to  every  five  tons  (which  is  the  provision 
of  existing  law),  would  be  fifteen  thousand  tons.  But, 
as  each  vessel  could  probably  make  two  voyages  in 
36 


4^2  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAY. 

the  year,  it  may  be  reduced  to  seven  thousand  five 
hundred.  And  as  both  our  mercantile  and  military 
marine  might  be  occasionally  employed  on  this  col- 
lateral service,  without  injury  to  the  main  object  of 
the  voyage,  a  further  abatement  may  be  safely  made 
in  the  aggregate  amount  of  the  necessary  tonnage. 
The  navigation  concerned  in  the  commerce  between 
the  colony  and  the  United  States  (and  it  already  be- 
gins to  supply  subjects  of  an  interesting  trade),  might 
be  incidentally  employed  to  the  same  end.  Is  the 
annual  expenditure  of  a  sum  no  larger  than  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  the  annuat 
employment  of  seven  thousand  five  hundred  tons  of 
shipping,  too  much  for  reasonable  exertion,  consider- 
ing the  magnitude  of  the  object  in  view?  Are  they 
not,  on  the  contrary,  within  the  compass  of  moderate 
efforts  ? 

Here  is  the  whole  scheme  of  the  Society — a  project 
which  has  been  pronounced  visionary  by  those  who 
have  never  given  themselves  the  trouble  to  examine 
it,  but  to  which  I  believe  most  unbiased  men  will 
yield  their  cordial  assent,  after  they  have  investi- 
gated it. 

Limited  as  the  project  is,  by  the  Society,  to  a 
colony  to  be  formed  by  the  free  and  unconstrained 
consent  of  free  persons  of  color,  it  is  no  objection, 
I  ut,  on  the  contrary,  a  great  recommendation  of  the 
plan,  that  it  admits  of  being  taken  up  and  applied  on 
a  scale  of  much  more  comprehensive  utility.  The 
Society  knows,  and  it  affords  just  cause  of  felicitation, 
that  all  or  any  one  of  the  States  which  tolerate  slavery 
may  carry  the  scheme  of  colonization  into  effect,  in 


ON    AFRICAN    COLONIZATION.  423 

regard  to  the  slaves  within  their  respective  limits,  and 
thus  ultimately  rid  themselves  of  a  universally-ac- 
knowledged curse.  A  reference  to  the  results  of  the 
several  enumerations  of  the  population  of  the  United 
States,  will  incontestably  prove  the  practicability  of 
its  application  on  the  more  extensive  scale.  Tho 
slave  population  of  the  United  States  amounted,  in 
1790,  to  six  hundred  and  ninety-seven  thousand  six 
hundred  and  ninety-seven;  in  1800,  to  eight  hundred 
and  ninety-six  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
nine;  in  1810,  to  eleven  hundred  and  ninety-one 
thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-four;  and  in  1820, 
to  fifteen  hundred  and  thirty-eight  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-eight.  The  rate  of  annual  increase 
(rejecting  fractions,  and  taking  the  integer  to  which 
they  make  the  nearest  approach),  during  the  first 
term  often  years,  was  not  quite  three  per  centum  per 
annum,  during  the  second  a  little  more  than  three 
per  centum  per  annum,  and  during  the  third  a  little 
less  than  three  per  centum.  The  mean  ratio  of  in- 
crease for  the  whole  period  of  thirty  years  was  very 
little  more  than  three  per  centum  per  annum.  Dur- 
ing the  first  two  periods,  the  native  stock  was  aug- 
mented by  importations  from  Africa,  in  those  States 
which  continued  to  tolerate  them,  and  by  the  acqui- 
sition of  Louisiana.  Virginia,  to  her  eternal  honor, 
abolished  the  abominable  traffic  among  the  earliest 
acts  of  her  self-government.  The  last  ti-nn  alone 
presents  the  natural  increase  of  the  capital,  unaffected 
by  any  extraneous  causes.  That  authorizes,  as  a  safe 
assumption,  that  the  future  increase  will  not  exceed 
three  per  centum  per  annum.  As  our  population 


424  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    C  L  A  T. 

increases,  the  value  of  slave  labor  will  diminisli,  in 
consequence  of  the  superior  advantages  in  the  em- 
ployment of  free  labor.  And  when  the  value  of  slave 
labor  shall  be  materially  lessened,  either  by  the  mul- 
tiplication of  the  supply  of  slaves  beyond  the  demand, 
or  by  the  competition  between  slave  and  free  labor, 
the  annual  increase  of  slaves  will  be  reduced,  in  «:on- 
gequence  of  the  abatement  of  the  motives  to  provide 
for  and  rear  the  offspring. 

Assuming  the  future  increase  to  be  at  the  rate  of 
three  per  centum  per  annum,  the  annual  addition  to 
the  number  of  slaves  in  the  United  States,  calculated 
upon  the  return  of  the  last  census  (one  million  five 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  thousand  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight)  is  forty-six  thousand.  Applying  the 
dafa  which  have  been  already  stated  and  explained, 
in  relation  to  the  colonization  of  free  persons  of  color 
from  the  United  States  to  Africa,  to  the  aggregate 
annual  increase,  both  bond  and  free,  of  the  African 
race,  and  the  result  will  be  found  most  encouraging. 
The  total  number  of  the  annual  increase  of  both  de- 
Bcriptiona  is  fifty-two  thousand.  The  total  expense 
of  transporting  that  number  to  Africa,  supposing  no 
reduction  of  present  prices,  would  be  one  million  and 
forty  thousand  dollars,  and  the  requisite  amount  of 
tonnage  would  be  only  one  hundred  and  thirty  thou- 
sand tons  of  shipping,  about  one-ninth  part  of  the 
mercantile  marine  of  the  United  States.  Upon  the 
supposition  of  a  vessel's  making  two  voyages  in  the 
year,  it  would  be  reduced  to  one  half,  sixty-five  thou- 
sand. And  this  quantity  would  be  still  further  re 
duccd,  by  embracing  opportunities  of  incidental  em 


ON    AFRICAN.   COLONIZATION.  425 

ployment  of  vessels  belonging  to  both  the  mercantile 
and  military  marines. 

But  is  the  annual  application  of  one  million  and 
forty  thousand  dollars,  and  the  employment  of  sixty- 
five  or  even  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  tons  of 
shipping,  considering  the  magnitude  of  the   object, 
beyond  the  ability  of  this  country?    Is  there  a  patriot 
looking  forward  to  its  domestic  quiet,  its  happiness, 
and  its  glory,  that  would  not  cheerfully  contribute  his 
proportion  of  the  burden  to  accomplish  a  purpose  so 
great  and  so  humane  ?     During  the  general  continu- 
ance of  the  African  slave-trade,  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  slaves  have  been,  in  a  single  year,  imported 
into  the  several  countries  whose  laws  authorized  their 
admission.      Notwithstanding   the   vigilance   of  the 
powers   now  engaged  to  suppress  the  slave-trade,  I 
have  received  information,  that  in  a  single  year,  in 
the  single  island  of  Cuba,  slaves  equal  in  amount  to 
one-half  of  the  above  number  of  fifty-two  thousand, 
have  been   illicitly   introduced.     Is   it  possible  that 
those  who  are  concerned  in  an  infamous  traffic  can 
eft'ect  more  than  the  States  of  this  Union,  if  they  were 
seriously  to  engage  in  the  good  work  ?     Is  it  credible 
— is  it  not  a  libel  upon  human  nature  to  suppose,  that 
the    triumphs  of  fraud,  and  violence,  and  iniquity, 
can   surpass  those  of  virtue,   and  benevolence,   au«j 
humanity  ? 

The  population  of  the  United  States  being,  at  this 
time,  estimated  at  about  ten  millions  of  the  European 
race,  and  two  of  the  African,  on  the  supposition  of 
the  annual  colonization  of  a  number  of  the  latter 
equal  to  the  annual  increase  of  both  of  its  clastcs 
30* 


426          SPEECHES  or  HENRY  CLAY. 

during  the  whole  period  necessary  to  the  process  of 
duplication  of  our  numbers,  they  would,  at  the  end 
of  that  period,  relatively  stand  twenty  millions  for 
the  white,  and  two  for  the  black  portion.  But  an 
annual  exportation  of  a  number  equal  to  the  annual 
increase,  at  the  beginning  of  the  term,  and  perse- 
vered in  to  the  end  of  it,  would  accomplish  more 
than  to  keep  the  parent  stock  stationary.  The  colo- 
nists would  comprehend  more  than  an  equal  propor- 
tion of  those  of  the  prolific  ages.  Few  of  those  who 
had  passed  that  age  would  migrate.  So  that  the  an- 
nual increase  of  those  left  behind,  would  continue 
gradually,  but  at  first  insensibly,  to  diminish  ;  and  by 
the  expiration  of  the  period  of  duplication,  it  would 
be  found  to  have  materially  abated.  But  it  is  not 
merely  the  greater  relative  safety  and  happiness  which 
would,  at  the  termination  of  that  period,  be  the  con- 
dition of  the  whites.  Their  ability  to  give  further 
stimulus  to  the  cause  of  colonization,  will  have  been 
doubled,  while  the  subjects  on  which  it  would  have 
to  operate  will  have  decreased  or  remained  stationary. 
If  tiie  business  of  colonization  should  be  regularly 
continued  during  two  periods  of  duplication,  at  the 
end  of  the  second  the  whites  would  stand  to  the 
blacks,  as  forty  millions  to  not  more  than  two,  while 
the  same  ability  will  have  been  quadrupled.  Even 
if  colonization  should  then  altogether  cease,  the  pro- 
portion of  the  African,  to  the  European  race  will  be 
so  small,  that  the  most  timid  may  then  forever  dis- 
miss all  ideas  of  danger  from  within  or  without,  on 
account  of  that  iucongrjous  and  perilous  clement  in 
our  population. 


Oy    AFRICAN    COLONIZATION  427 

Further:  r>y  the  annual  withdrawal  of  fifty-two 
thousand  persons  of  color,  there  would  be  annual 
space  created  tor  an  equal  number  of  the  white  nice. 
The  period,  therefore,  of  the  duplication  of  the  whites, 
by  the  laws  which  govern  population,  would  be  ac- 
celerated. 

Such,  Mr.  President,  is  the  project  of  the  Society; 
and  such  is  the  extension  and  use  which  maybe  made 
of  the  principle  of  colonization,  in  application  to  our 
slave  population,  by  those  States  which  are  alone  com- 
petent to  undertake  and  execute  it.  All.  or  any  one 
of  those  States  which  tolerate  slavery  may  adopt  and 
execute  it,  by  co-operation  or  separate  exertion.  If  I 
could  be  instrumental  in  eradicating  this  deepest 
stain  upon  the  character  of  our  country,  and  removing 
all  cause  of  reproach  on  account  of  it,  by  foreign 
nations  — if  I  could  only  be  instrumental  in  ridding 
of  this  foul  blot  that  revered  State  that  gave  me  birth, 
or  that  not  less  beloved  State  which  kindly  adopted 
me  as  her  son — I  would  not  exchange  the  proud  sat- 
isfaction which  I  should  enjoy,  for  the  honor  of  all 
the  triumphs  ever  decreed  to  the  most  successful  con- 
queror. 

Having,  I  hope,  shown  that  the  plan  of  the  Society 
is  not  visionary,  but  rational  and  practicable ;  that  a 
colony  does  in  fact  exist,  planted  under  its  auspices; 
that  free  people  are  willing  and  anxious  to  go;  and 
that  the  right  of  soil  as  well  as  of  sovereignty  may 
be  acquired  in  vast  tracts  of  country  in  Africa,  abun- 
dantly sufficient  for  all  the  purposes  of  the  most 
ample  colony,  and  at  prices  almost  only  nominal,  the 
task  which  remains  to  me  of  showing  the  beuelicial 


428  SPEECHES    0  P  •  II  E  X  R-Y    CLAY. 

consequences  which  would  attend  the  execution  of 
the  scheme,  is  comparatively  easy. 

Of  the  utility  of  ti  total  separation  of  the  t\vo  in- 
congruous portions  of  our  population,  supposing  it 
to  he  practicable,  none  have  ever  doubted.  The 
mode  of  accomplishing  that  most,  desirable  object, 
has  alone  divided  public  opinion.  Colonization  iu 
llayti  for  a  time  had  its  partisans.  Without  throw 
ing  any  impediments  in  th«  way  of  executing  that 
scheme,  the  American  Colonization  Society  lias 
steadily  adhered  to  its  own.  The  Haytien  project 
lias  passed  away.  Colonization  beyond  the  Stony 
Mountains  has  sometimes  been  proposed ;  but  il 
would  be  attended  with  an  expense  and  difficulties 
far  surpassing  the  African  project,  while  it  would  not 
unite  the  same  animating  motives.  There  is  a  moral 
fitness  in  the  idea  of  returning  to  Africa  her  children, 
whose  ancestors  have  been  torn  from  her  by  the  ruth- 
less hand  of  fraud  and  violence.  Transplanted  in  a 
foreign  land,  they  will  carry  back  to  their  native  soil 
the  rich  fruits  of  religion,  civilization,  law,  and  lib- 
erty. May  it  not  be  one  of  the  great  designs  of  the 
Ruler  of  the  universe  (whose  ways  are  often  inscru- 
table by  short-sighted  mortals),  thus  to  transform 
original  crime  into  a  signal  blessing,  to  that  most  un- 
fortunate portion  of  the  globe.  Of  all  classes  of  our 
population,  the  most  vicious  is  that  of  the  free 
colored.  It  is  the  inevitable  result  of  their  moral, 
political,  and  civil  degradation.  Contaminated  them- 
selves, they  extend  their  vices  to  all  around  them,  to 
the  slaves  and  to  the  whites.  If  the  principle  of  oo- 
lonizatiou  should  be  confined  to  them ;  if  a  colony 


ON    AFRICAN    COLONIZATION.  429 

can  be  firmly  established,  and  successfully  continued 
in  Africa,  which  should  draw  off  annually  an  amount 
of  that  portion  of  our  population  equal  to  its  annual 
increase,  much  good  will  be  done.  If  the  principle 
be  adopted  and  applied  by  the  States,  whose  laws 
sanction  the  existence  of  slavery  to  an  extent  equal 
to  the  annual  increase  of  slaves,  still  greater  good  will 
be  done.  This  good  will  be  felt  by  the  Africans  who 
go,  by  the  Africans  who  remain,  by  the  white  popu- 
lation of  our  country,  by  Africa  and  by  America. 
It  is  a  project  which  recommends  itself  to  favor  in 
all  the  aspects  in  which  it  can  be  contemplated.  It 
will  do  good  in  every  and  any  extent  in  which  it  may 
be  executed.  It  is  a  circle  of  philanthropy,  every 
segment  of  which  telh  and  testifies  to  the  beneficence 
of  the  whole. 

Every  emigrant  to  Africa  is  a  missionary  carrying 
\vith  him  credentials  in  the  holy  cause  of  civilization, 
religion,  and  free  institutions.  Why  is  it  that  the 
degree  of  success  of  missionary  exertions  is  so  limited, 
and  so  discouraging  to  those  whose  piety  and  bene- 
volence prompt  them  ?  Is  if.  not  because  the  mis- 
sionary is  generally  an  alien  and  a  stranger,  perhaps 
of  a  different  color,  and  from  a  different  tribe? 
There  is  a  sort  of  instinctive  feeling  of  jealousy  and 
distrust  towards  foreigners,  which  repels  and  rejects 
them  in  all  countries:  and  this^feeling  is  in  propor- 
tion to  the  degree  of  ignorance  and  barbarism  which 
prevail.  But  the  African  colonists,  whom  we  send 
to  convert  the  heathen,  are  of  the  same  color,  the 
same  family,  the  same  physical  constitution.  When 
the  purposes  of  the  colony  shall  be  fully  understood, 


430  SPEECHES    OF    HENRY    CLAT. 

they  will  be  received  as  long-lost  brethren,  restored  to 
the  embraces  of  their  friends  and  their  kindred  by  the 
dispensations  of  a  wise  Providence. 

The  Society  is  reproached  for  agitating  this  ques- 
tion. It  should  be  recollected  that  the  existence  of 
free  people  of  color  is  not  limited  to  the  States  only 
which  tolerate  slavery.  The  evil  extends  itself  to  all 
the  States;  and  some  of  those  which  do  not  allow  of 
slavery,  their  cities  especially,  experience  the  evil  in 
an  extent  even  greater  than  it  exists  in  the  slave 
States.  A  common  evil  confers  a  right  to  consider 
and  apply  a  common  remedy.  Nor  is  it  a  valid  ob- 
jection that  this  remedy  is  partial  in  its  operation  or 
distant  in  its  efficacy.  A  patient,  wri tiling  under  the 
tortures  of  excruciating  disease,  asks  of  his  physician 
to  cure  him  if  lie  can.  and,  if  he  cannot,  to  mitigate 
his  sufferings.  But  the  remedy  proposed,  if  gene- 
rally adopted  and  perseveringly  applied  for  a  suffi- 
cient length  of  time,  should  it  not  entirely  eradicate 
the  disease,  will  enable  the  body  politic  to  bear  it 
without  danger  and  without  suffering. 

We  are  reproached  with  doing  mischief  by  the 
agitation  of  this  question.  The  Society  goes  into  no 
household  to  disturb  its  domestic  tranquillity;  it  ad- 
dresses itself  to  no  slaves  to  weaken  their  obligations 

O 

of  obedience.  It  seeks  to  affect  no  man's  property. 
It  neither  has  the  power  nor  the  will  to  affect  the 
property  of  any  one  contrary  to  his  consent.  The 
execution  of  its  scheme  would  augment  instead  of 
diminishing  the  value  of  the  property  left  behind. 
The  Society,  composed  of  free  men,  concerns  itself 
only  with  the  free.  Collateral  consequences  we  are 


ON    AFRICAN    COLONIZATION.  431 

responsible  for.  It  is  not  this  Society  which  has 
produced  the  great  moral  revolution  which  the  age 
exhibits.  What  would  they,  who  thus  reproach  us, 
have  done?  If  they  would  repress  all  tendencies  to- 
ward liberty  and  ultimate  emancipation,  they  must 
do  more  than  put  down  the  benevolent  efforts  of  this 
Societv.  They  must  sro  back  to  the  era  of  our  liberty 

J  •/  ^  v 

and  independence,  and  muzzle  the  cannon  which 
thunders  its  annual  joyous  return.  They  must  re- 
vive the  slave-trade,  with  all  its  train  of  atrocities. 
They  must  suppress  the  workings  of  British  philan- 
thropy, seeking  to  meliorate  the  condition  of  the  un- 
fortunate West  Indian  slaves.  They  must  arrest  the 
career  of  South  American  deliverance  from  thraldom. 
They  must  blow  out  the  moral  lights  around  us,  and 
extinguish  that  greatest  torch  of  all  which  America 
points  to  a  benighted  world  —  pointing  the  way  to 
their  rights,  their  liberties,  and  their  happiness.  And 
when  they  have  achieved  all  these  purposes,  their 
work  will  be  yet  incomplete.  They  must  penetrate 
the  human  soul,  and  eradicate  the  light  of  reason 
and  the  love  of  liberty.  Then,  and  not  till  then, 
when  universal  darkness  and  despair  prevail,  can  you 
perpetuate  slavery,  and  repress  all  sympathies,  and 
all  humane  and  benevolent  efforts  among  freemen,  in 
behalf  of  the  unhappy  portion  of  our  race  doomed  to 
bondage. 

Our  friends,  who  are  cursed  with  this  greatest  of 
human  evils,  deserve  the  kindest  attention  and  con- 
sideration. Their  property  and  their  safety  are  both 
involved.  But  the  liberal  and  candid  among  them 
will  not,  cannot,  expect  that  every  project  to  deliver 


432  SPEECHES    OF    IIEXKY    CLAY. 

our  country  from  it  is  to  be  crushed  because  or  a  pos- 
sible and  ideal  danger. 

Animated  by  the  encouragement  of  the  past,  let 
us  proceed  under  the  cheering  prospects  which  lie 
before  ns.  Let  us  continue  to  appeal  to  the  pious, 
the  Hheral,  and  the  wise.  Let  us  bear  in  mind  4he 
condition  of  our  forefathers,  when,  collected  on  the 
beach  of  England,  they  embarked,  amidst  the  scof- 
fings  and  the  false  predictions  of  the  assembled 
multitude,  for  this  distant  land;  and  here,  in  spite  of 
all  the  perils  of  forest  and  ocean  which  they  encoun- 
tered, successfully  laid  the  foundations  of  this  glo- 
rious Republic.  Undismayed  by  the  prophecies  of 
the  presumptuous,  let  us  supplicate  the  aid  of  the 
American  representatives  of  the  people,  and  redou- 
bling our  labors,  and  invoking  the  blessings  of  an 
.all-wise  Providence,  I  boldly  and  confidently  antici- 
pate success.  I  hope  the  resolution  which  I  offer  will 
be  unanimously  adopted. 


THE    END. 


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